One little cool detail I notice that perhaps forgot to mention or didn't notice is when Heather finds Harry dead and cries out on his body, her clothes gets covered in blood, Harry's blood. So in a sense that means Harry is with Heather all the way till the end.
I was really surprised playing it on emulator and seeing how it looks better than alot of ps3 games with a resolution bump, insane work team silent did
Oh my god thank you so much for this. I'm an Amazon delivery driver; I love listening to podcasts while working these 10 hour shifts. You just gave me something to look forward to tomorrow thank you :D
How hard is that job, I can't fathom working for amazon and being treated like a roach with no real security, the threat of being replaced right away because you get sick one day. I really hope we have labor strikes like the old days and unionize, we really should put some fear into these evil companies again.
@@timdillon4876 The first month is the most difficult. You will be exhausted daily. Your body will ache and you won't be doing much outside of work except low effort tasks while you build muscles and learn the ropes around the job and your route. After a while, you see daily challenge and address them. I'm 9 months into this job on my 2nd DSP (Delivery Service Provider or contractor) so overtime I have amassed ways to make the job more comfortable. Im in Florida so I have to contend with the heat. I wear arm and leg anti-uv sleeves to keep me cool. I wear superlight sweat whisking fitness shirts. I bring 2 liters of ice cold water in an insulated bottle. I wear expensive but extremely comfortable running shoes (Thank you HOKA!). For the rain I have nice water-proof timberland shoes and a branded rain jacket so I stay dry. For packages, I take a marker and write "reference numbers" on them to quickly seek them out in a packed van. My Google pixel earbuds accompany me daily. I have RUclips premium and have several hundreds of songs/albums/podcasts downloaded since my route has super poor data connection. Lastly, about 3 months ago I trained to drive the step-vans (the same vans UPS and Fedex drivers use) because it has significantly more space and is MUCH less taxing on your body. I am now 9 months into the company. I consistently have the largest package count at my DSP. Yet it doesn't bother me. For months i am in "zen mode" because I have made this job as comfortable as I can. I actually enjoy doing what I do. Because despite the hard work. It has positively impacted my health. I'm type 2 diabetic and slowly this job has been slowly curing my illness (so to say) and its chill most days. I just listen to music/podcasts and deliver packages all day. No screaming clients. No asshole managers (my current DSP is really nice!). Bi-weekly bonuses because I excel at what I do. In my experience, and with my life circumstances. This job was actually a blessing. I think I'll stay here for 2 years max. Hopefully my blood sugar will be normal levels by then. Also you being terminated is highly dependent on your DSP. I broke a community gate the first month into my job yet they didn't fire me because my DSP really likes my work ethic and performance. But other shittier DSP's would drop you instantly. Even if you were a great driver. I feel bad for those drivers in those situations because good work ethic should be rewarded. Sorry for the long response in a Silent Hill video of all things, but your comment made me appreciate my current circumstances lol.
It’s a labor intensive job. Technically you work for Amazon but (most)drivers work for third party companies that bought the right to open a facility in your area. It. I worked for the KC “three trails” company and the owners worked right beside us. They took care of you, lots of bonuses, and lots of opportunities for raises. It all depends on the owners.
@@Azavea Really messed up how they either post bogus crap where & whenever possible, or manage to brainwash a few people into believing their propagan-tastic garbage for regurgitation purposes. Regardless; Amazon is shit, & subcontractors are all shit-tainted as well. Nothing good comes from working for Amazon.
I wish we learned more about Douglas and Vincent. Douglas' story about his kid dying is perfect psychological fodder for a Silent Hill game. Vincent on the other hand is such an interesting, strange character I just wanted more of his dialogue. "Monsters? They looked like Monsters to you?" being perhaps my favorite ambiguous line in a SH game.
This. That Vincent line has always been one of my favourites, and the best part is that there's no reason to discredit what he says. Despite the whole game Vincent has played himself to be deceitful and arrogant, I've always come out of that cutscene with the thought of, "What if he is telling the truth?" In the back of my head. And I can't help but imagine it would be in character for Heather to wonder the same thing, after the fact. The twisted grin on Vincent's face as he tries to play up what he just said is a joke, then smugly lifting his glasses back up his nose, makes the scenario even more ambiguous. It always made me unsure whether what he just said has any credit at all. It's so wonderfully done, and timed perfectly, if such a moment were to happen earlier in the game, I don't think it would've had more weight.
@@trainingben. Right?? I LOVE that line! You can't trust a thing he says, but his expression during that line is nine kinds of sincere. I truly believe he was telling the truth, then quickly backtracked in order to assuage Heather and keep her on her path of destruction.
@@WobblesandBean Yep, you explained it perfectly. It's a fantastic display of body language and character design. Mixed with a little twistedness. Vincent has proved that the Otherworld suits him just fine, and even at the end of the game he encourages Heather to kill Claudia, before being killed himself. For Vincent, I imagine an ideal world for him would be the Possessed ending for Heather.
@@trainingben. Vincent's twistedness is even integrated into the small details of his facial design. He has missing and decaying teeth, contrasting with his classier attire, that you only get to see when he similes (often with a sadistic joke). His eyes also have strange properties, with his left pupil being larger than the other, and one eye always looks at the player while the other looks slightly away towards the camera. It gives the subtle feeling that something is off about him, but without close inspection, you can't tell why (matching Heather's own feelings about him). 3 is full of details like this, like Claudia having no eyebrows to make her facial expressions more difficult to read, with this attention to detail helping the graphics still hold up even to this day.
I've always like the theory that Douglas shoots the bank robber dead and then realizes its actually his son. The guilt and sorrow he would feel from realizing he killed his own son would fit Silent Hill extremely well.
SH3 is kind of overlooked because everyone loved 2 so much. I think it would be more fondly remembered if it was the 2nd game in the series and James' journey was the 3rd game. That way you kind of get Alessa part 1 and part 2 then something unique.
I disagree. I think they made the right choice here. If you want an anthology series, you need to start as early as the second installment. Halloween didn't do that, and that's why every installment other than 3 is the Michael Myers Variety Hour. On top of that, it's a natural progression. Silent Hill 2 went to much more somber and depressing places, but was also very chill. Silent Hill 3 raised the stakes, with the most virulent manifestations the series has seen to date. Not to mention, the first 2 games as well as all the other games beside 3 in the series star men south of middle age who pretty much have little left to lose at that point. Silent Hill 3 stars a teenager who still has her whole life ahead of her. Horror tends to strike a lot harder when you're a more vulnerable character. All that combined with the best music of the series and one hell of an amazing ending makes Silent Hill 3 the perfect swan song for the original trilogy.
As far as I’m aware, they didn’t intend to continue the story left off from 1 at the time hence why they decided to do it here when making the third entry. They clearly had different intentions for the 2nd game, and to say this should’ve been the actual 2nd game would kind of ignore the differences of technological advances and advantages both games had.
Yeah but it deserves to be overlooked. It has more to do with the original concept than 2, to be fair, but doesn't have as strong of a thematic core or character narrative. Ultimately the villain is just a slasher, and the whole experience is more mundane horror than any of the previous instalments. Maybe it was an attempt to bridge the ideas of 1&3 and 2, and expand the lore of the town, but on its own it really wasn't as interesting.
Silent hill 3's facial animation was next level when it came out, heather especially in th mall meeting the PI emoting in real-time in-game cutscene blew me away when I saw it for the first time, also the realtime shadows I feel was another benchmark of the game at the time
2 things: 1. I'm disappointed you didn't talk about the transition from the regular mall to the otherworld mall. The shortest transition in the series so far, literally a straightforward walk towards the back door, but sets up the game rather well. I also enjoy the sunset from that alley, it's the game saying "enjoy it while it lasts, this is literally the brightest part of the game". 2. While I love this game, one thing about the development history makes me yearn for the SH3 we didn't get. In the original plans for SH3, it was not supposed to have direct connections with the cast of the first game and was supposed to be about a teenage girl who was pregnant being affected by Silent Hill. I think that it would still be possible to make a game like that. Games like Rule of Rose prove you don't need to piggyback off of Silent Hill's lore to tell a story of symbolism and nightmares. Other than that, 10/10 on your analysis. You talked about everything and I do mean everything.
SH3 is my favorite SH title and we should totally get more femme focused horror media-- something like the original plans for SH3 is we really need right now
I’m still in disbelief that The Silent Hill 2 Analysis is over 2 years old. I can still vividly remember watching the SH2 video on my 30 minute lunch break. Then later watching the rest of the video when I was back home. Not all too fond of 2020, but I sure do feel all giddy inside whenever I see a GBS game-analysis.
Funny thing is. Vincints words towards heather when she mentions the monsters. "They look like monsters to you?" my first thoughts when I heard this the first time was this guy is twisted and the monsters just dont seem like monsters to him, like he's a demon who sees nothing abnormal about the monsters
Same, that’s always been my interpretation. Not that the monsters have changed physically depending on who you are, but he perceives them socially as servants of his god. He thinks their horrific misshapen nature is normal.
This makes sense, but remember that the Missionary, the monster who killed Harry, actually could understand and follow orders. What kind of monster follows human orders? Maybe it's just Heather who sees the person who killed her father as a monster
The point about Silent Hill being about good parenthood, especially regardless of blood, strikes a really personal chord with me. RUclips comments isn't the place to get into detail, but just know that it hits home. Helps that I didn't get that message until this video, too. Thanks for your analysis, man.
The answer to your confusion of the monsters - of them being less specific to any individual, Alessa or Heather or Claudia - is that they all shared fears relating to being victimised for being a woman and of pregnancy. With Claudia, it's more implied that stated, but still: all of them either experienced or saw the direct impacts of the danger of large, violent men, loss as a direct result of a pregnancy, disgust over their own bodies, etc. Victor is deliberately trying to mess with people, so he shouldn't be taken as a reliable source, but he is actually right; Claudia became just like Dahlia and her father, sexually and psychologically abusing an incarnation of Alessa for her own benefit. I can't imagine a worse nightmare for her. Ultimately, men are - in the game - simply presented as lacking any real agency, not directly effecting the plot besides their ability to inflict violence at the behest or to protect a girl. The game is showing how women can perpetuate and enable the suffering of other women. The themes of pregnancy and the victimisation of women are ever-present. If you'd like to know more about that symbology, The Gaming Muse made some content relating to this.
also, the "sperm monster" (numb body) has a head that looks like a cervix, no one really points that out. The symbolism of the monsters feel super obvious to me, but idk I've been a teenage girl afraid of pregnancy so, different perspectives ig.
I'm sorry, but this is pure nonsense. Claudia isn't a victim in any way, shape or form, Alessa's issues had *nothing* to do with men, she was carrying a nascent god - men were not involved in that. Only women and the god were. As for Heather - no? At best you could stretch the stalker into leaning into that theme, but otherwise there's nothing that would even begin to imply that.
@theMoporter I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to agree with @SyndicateOperative on this. Claudia is revealed to have been physically abused by her father, but nothing suggests that it was sexual. Alessa was abused by her mother, and by extension members of the cult at large. Heather wasn't abused at all. In fact, she loved Harry and is grateful to him even despite learning about what he felt taking her home after SH1. The main theme song of the game "You're Not Here" is a direct tribute to Harry and a mourning of his passing from Heather's perspective.
SH3 might be my favorite out of the 3. The minor gameplay improvements, the brand new environments outside Silent Hill, the little bits of humor thrown in, and the Heather’s story all kinda just all click with me. Also you gotta appreciate the guts this game had to not only kill Harry off, but to do it with no fanfare offscreen sometime between the mall and the apartment. It definitely also helps with making you also want to go after Claudia. Even then, Harry leaving the pendant to Heather at the end also helps her to save the day, so even in death he was still looking out for his daughter. Edit: I suppose I should say of the series, not of the 3. That was less a dig at 4 and more just I kinda wasn’t thinking too much with the phrasing.
@@iwasagirlineldiadoingalrig7290 it's probably the people who drooled over P.T, even though the only thing silent hill related with that game was the name.
Silent Hill 4 deserves a lot more recognition than it gets, definitely more than 3. Every game specializes at something and while 3 is no doubt still great from a story aspect, it is largely retreading Silent Hill 1's footsteps plot wise and started the trend of heavier combat emphasis. Silent Hill 4, flaws aside, brought an entirely original story to the table that used the Silent Hill mythos as a means of crafting something unseen and truly disturbing more than any of the other games. Its story might not be as witty as 2's, but it easily stands toe-to-toe in terms of presentation and execution.
I really appreciate that all the observations are from the actual game itself. It’s good, because for me, I didn’t really appreciate the Silent Hill games until I actually learned the story and what it’s trying to say through the actual game. I watched the Twin Perfect videos and read the Silent Hill wiki, but it wasn’t until I actually paid attention to the games’ themselves that I realized just how great these games are. Reading the memos, looking and paying attention to the environment, and most importantly examining a lot of the stuff in the game world. For SH3 in particular, a lot of findings in the game you can only examine once, and then if you examine it again it will only give the last line of it.
Imagine being a kid in the 90’s and only having the first silent Hill game to go off of with lore. I remember spending so many months and years until SH2 came out trying to figure out what the heck happened in SH1 and reading FAQ’s about lore on GameFAQ’s from someone like PresidentEvil etc, SH3 definitely spelled things out much clearer than we had things before
Being much younger, I had to find out about this series after the fact. I had read about them on wikipedia and how they would make a lot of horror top ten lists. It wasn't until Jordan Underneath's videos that I felt a desire to hunt down and play at the very least the first four games in the series. It does kind of suck that the only way people know about this series in any way is through spoiler heavy retrospectives and I put the blame on Konami. All they had to do to keep the series relevant was to make sure competent ports were made for PC and upcoming consoles, but in the exact inversion of those responsibilities, they threw away the code that made some of these masterpieces, leading to the flaws of the Silent Hill HD collection, which was the beginning of this series's tragic death. It's ironic that a series that explored abuse and mishandling was itself abused and mishandled by the company that held the rights. Regardless, I'm glad I play through these games on that PS2 I picked up at a garage sale. Anakin Skywalker was right: sometimes, the archives just don't hold a candle to experiencing it for yourself.
@@bluecoin3771 lol nicely said. These games came out slowly over many years as I was growing up and I grew up with this franchise. It is a travesty watching how Konami has torn it apart, but Team Silent was a burning star in a dark void. They made what they could in the time they had and vanished, and their games live on.
When I played SH3 for the first time back when it was released, I assumed that Heather was like James, a disconnected story. It was only at the office building section when everything clicked and then I realized that I was playing with the reincarnation of Alessa that Harry adopted. The game went up to an 11 at that point, only to find Harry killed and mix the horror with despair and rage. That was a freaking rollercoaster of emotions, and “Hometown” at the credits was the cherry on top.
Well he keeps referring to the Silent Hill games as a "trilogy" for starters. It has me worried too because SH4 is actually my favorite entry, even more than SH2. This makes me believe he's one of the people who genuinely believe Silent Hill 4 was made by a different studio and was some sort of spinoff project when that was never the case, it just shared a development period with SH3. The Room was just their first real shot at trying something different and it had a John Carpenter's The Thing effect; diehard fans and reviewers thrashed it at the time, but over the years people more and more have begun recognizing it for all the great things in the game.
@@Impalingthorn You did take a note of that part in the beginning, where Brit emphasized that "Like with the previous two games, my analysis will in no way take into account titles released after the subject at hand"? He addresses it as a trilogy, because that's what it is for the purposes of this analysis and would have been at this point in the series' lifespan. And Brit did state in his recent Van Helsing gameplay Stream, that he does intend to tackle Silent Hill 4 in due time, though he's not gonna rush into it right after this one. So rest assured, he's not going to ignore it.
21:43 There's a video by someone named RagnarRox specifically about this monster where they explain their interpretation and how it reflects Heather's body issues; with bulbous lips for a face, high heels, and a skirt that's way too short. They also went further to explain how it relates to the game as a whole having major themes of feminine vulnerability, something Heather would be very afraid of not just as a teen girl, but also from the nature of silent hill 3's plot. My mind was blown when I heard that interpretation, it made so much of the game slide right into place.
I'm honestly surprised at how he missed all of that with how in depth he goes with other things. Maybe for me who is AFAB (Assigned Female At Birth) the themes of forced pregnancy, sexual abuse and harassment are super easy for me to pick up. That shits trauma central.
@@maybemablemaples2144 yeah! I noticed how most people (specifically men) miss on that or just straight up dismiss it when someone else mentions it saying "it's not that deep" kinda sad because the implications are pretty obvious imo
@@bettywr6251 It's because it's never even slightly implied to be related to her character. She never gives the player any reason to believe those themes match her, nor does she react to them as if they meant anything to her beyond "big scary monster". If anything, it uses the same logic as the half-life 1 monsters - arbitrary spooky, gross-out designs designed to evoke terror for the players. We aren't going to argue that gordon freeman has to fight the headcrab mother because he has a fear of a testicle-spider, are we?
@@SyndicateOperative her body issues have definitely been implied. In the bathroom when you click on the mirror she says 'I don't like mirrors.' And she's a teenage girl, almost every teenage girl experiences body issues
@@SSILKMOONStill it doesn't mean that the monsters themselves are a manifestation to that in particular, the game does include many negative things some teenagers deal with in general, including smoking addiction, stranger danger, stalking etc... though Heather herself doesn’t seem to react strongly to any of it and the only things that really tie into the game are stuff related with the forced pregnancy especially in the last stretch of the game where we also see Fukuro lady (who originated from a short test film for SH2 which Ito said was a depiction of the womb). People do seem to read into some things more than they really are at times. Just like how for the longest time people thought that Pyramid head was "raping" the mannequins in SH2 only for Masahiro Ito to shoot it down.
I always felt that in SH2 there was like a strength rule. When James encountered Eddie and Angela late in SH2, their otherworld entirely overwrote what James was seeing, that's because (I think) they were WAY more far gone and their nightmare was stronger. In SH3, Heather doesn't see any monsters from anyone else because her nightmare's at 100% full strength all the time because she's got a lil god baby
That first part is probably true I think. But for SH3 I don't think it's because she has a god baby but because we're seen throughout the game following after Claudia, and in the first part of the game she was already in the mall where Heather was. Notice as well how the game gets progressively scarier the closer we reach her and notice her desperation. I believe what we're seeing throughout the game is mostly Claudia's own nightmare. Heather seems to recognize her own (aka Alessa's nightmare) but she's able to disassociate from it in a way by recognizing that she is and isn't her.
I kinda assumed that the energies within the town react to strong emotions and trauma, that after the events of 1 people could periodically end up drawn to it and their minds populate it in a shotgun spread of creation. However, when the energy is channeled for a specific purpose it ignores all other inputs and instead manifests for that purpose. So the Rituals in 3 and 4 manifested the target and the caster's impression of them.
I'll defend the quiz show sequence in SH2. For me it reinforced the idea and feeling that you are in a nightmare. We've all had that dream where something kind of out of place happens, and even our dream selves think it's odd
Oh man, been looking forward to this. GamingBrit has got some top tier analysis. But, ironically, I still haven't finished SH3, yet! So I'm leaving a comment and a like to support the channel and will try to return once I've gotten around to a finished playthrough! Because if every single one of Brit's previous videos are anything to go by, I will absolutely love this one too!
@@whodatninja439 Yeah, I was playing through the series back in 2021, but real life was starting to get a little too heavy for me to be playing these also pretty heavy games. So their length wasn't really the factor that got me to stop
I swear every top comment now on YT videos are someone sucking the video content creator off in some way, or it’s a quote of a funny meme or line from the video itself lol love u
Speaking of parenting and kindness as a theme, SH4 also explored that albeit it much less so. Sullivan abandoned by his parents, delusional about an apartment being his mother, misogynistic from the abandonment, abused by the cult and the adults in his life, driven to murder by Valtiel in his mind. Yet the only person he failed to murder was Eileen who shown kindness to him, and he couldn't do it as he was stopped by "kid Walter" which represents his remaining innocence.
11:08 I believe silent hill 2 states something to the effect that the town still has spiritual stuff from the first game. But the cultists aren't around and there's no alessa. So when people come to the town it simply manifests there stuff till something stronger like a God returns
Of course then it's like who gave James a letter. Did he ever really have a letter. And if it was the town how does that work? But it's the band aid they put for the 2nd game.
@@magnenoalex2 Actually I just looked it up. After the Eddie fight the writing dissappears. After the videotape the letter dissappears. Laura also gives James a letter from Mary when you encounter her in the hotel, which is likely the letter read during the final scene.
I really disagree with the "SH2 ruins the mythology of 1 and 3" argument. A. Alessa is still alive in the form of Heather during SH2. That allows SH2 right there. B. I don't understand how Heather going to SH hurts her story. If she can see the monsters anywhere, why would she go to SH and then NOT see them there? That would be silly. It feels like you're kinda finding ways to poke holes in 2. Like you said, 2 can happen right after 1, it only feels weird if 2 takes place closer to 3. Basically, the town had its underlying sinister edge even before Alessa was born. Who's to say the Cult didn't put some curse on the town to punish "sinners" years before that, and Alessa simply brought this from your standard curse trope to the huge jump into "nope, you're actually going to hell if you come here with too many burdens"? There is no reason 2 and 4 don't work. Even Homecoming and Origins work within the towns rules, despite other flaws. But I've noticed ppl who prefer 3 will find a way to try to argue why 2 is weaker, which takes away from just focusing on the good things in 3.
Also, why can't SH3's monsters just be a combination of A. The fears of a teenage girl, mixed with the divine soul of Alessa, and B., because of A, creatures like Valtiel being "real" creatures of the Order's religion, who's designs don't need to be metaphors if they're in their true form? I believe Valtiel is Valtiel all the time. It's not like Homecoming where Pyramid Head feels completely out of place. And ironically that game nailed the idea of monsters born from each of the 4 families' histories.
I prefer both SH 1 and 3 over 2 and I don’t really understand his issue with the “rules” of the town either. It feels like he’s arguing about power levels in dragon ball or something. How the town is manifesting the nightmare feels less relevant then the minute to minute gameplay, story, and visuals. I understand the want for consistency but I think he presents it as more convoluted then it is. The town has spiritual power before the cult moves in, the cult perverts the spiritual power, then the town becomes a weirdo supernatural hot spot cult. I don’t know why the supernatural needs explain itself like a magic system, it can just be as simple as the town is a paranormal hell hole.
@@altermann6753 I think your Dragon Ball analogy was perfect tbh. Again I just think it's that ppl who love the Alessa saga subconsciously resent the idea that the popular opinion is that the peak of the series is basically a side-story.
Not to mention Team Silent didn't even want to make a direct story-continuation of Silent Hill 1 at first, they only did it because higher-ups at Konami wanted them to tie up loose ends. The original story to Silent Hill 3 was a standalone story like SH2. "Silent Hill 2 is a spin off" is the last thing Team Silent wanted people to think, but unfortunately Avalanche Reviews, GamingBrit, and maybe others are pushing this elitist idea that it's an outlier that doesn't fit into the mythos.
@@NoName-cz3wn I can understand it in a way because as a fan of the Alessa/cult aspect of the horror I’ve gone into many conversations with SH2 fans who actively tear down the rest of the team silent games because they involve the cult storyline. In terms of resenting that the peak of the series is a “side story” I more so resent the attitude many SH2 fans have when they say stuff like “SH2 is the only one you should bother with” to newcomers of the series. I’ve heard that parroted both online and irl. I was told that when I first got into the games and dismissed the rest of the series for years. (Homecoming was the newest game at the time and after looking into to it I just believed all of the games expect 2 were that bad) After going back and beating 1 through 4 I regret buying into that thought process.
Ngl that jump from silent hill 1’s graphics to silent hill 3 still impress me today. It is still one of the best looking games on the PlayStation 2, besides metal gear solid 2 etc
I always figured that since Laura in SH2 didn't see the monsters and James doesn't see the doormen until he enters an area where Angela is dealing with probably-her-dad-doorman, people don't tend to see others monsters and whatnot. Vincent also has the, "they look like monsters to you?" line so I think people see different things but it's also possible to see other's under the right circumstances. James only sees doormen _after_ fighting one and sees the fire Angela apparently always see after that too. It almost seems like the wires got crossed when they interacted in the gross doorman boss room but unless something like that happens, people experience entirely different things. I also think that other people's "version" of Silent Hill can "leak out" if they get particularly lost in their experiences. That's the only reason I can think of for all the weird corpses in Eddie's fight room are seen by James too. The "god" may also overwrite a lot of the physical space of Silent Hill. I dunno if any of this is right but that's how I always thought about it.
On the topic of "your own personal nightmare" at 17:40, I interpret that as the assertion that what was taking place was all orchestrated by Claudia, making every event that transpires "her doing," in a sense. While the world may not belong to her, it is something that she initiated into being created, making it something of "her own" in spite of having little control over what actually manifests. Furthermore, every manifested creature, object, or place that seems related to Claudia could be the results of lingering subconscious memories of Heather's time as Alessa, offering up a cleaner explanation as to the origins of everything you see in the game being wholly a result of Heather and not some mishmash of her and Claudia. Excellent work, as always. You find new and inventive ways to impress every time.
This is mental, I literally only bought Silent Hill 3 on PS2 yesterday and now this video has been uploaded the next day. Must be fate. Thanks again for the fantastic videos, your SH 2 video is exceptional and I’m sure this will rival if not surpass it in terms of quality
Great analysis, one of the best i ever saw of SH3. Here's hoping for you to make a Silent Hill 4 analysis too, that game is pretty different from the others but it has a lot of great stuff. The four games made by team Silent are pretty remarkable.
Here's hoping. 4 gets a lot of hate just for being something different but like every game it has its own strengths and definitely does certain things better than the rest of the games. Hell, I would argue I like its story more than 2.
I've already overdosed on days upon days of quality Silent Hill videos, but I can never deny myself another one, especially yours. I particularly enjoyed your diss on that wacky monster with a bad posture that allegedly killed Harry. One of the rare misses of the trilogy. And your heartfelt thoughts on the lessons of the series were touching. Not just that - kind in the simplest, truest of senses.
Personally, I thought he was kinda missing the context with the Missonary killing Harry. Harry is 17 years older at this point, with plenty of time for him to be less in shape or prepared for a fight against monsters. Plus, while the Missionary can meander about sometimes, he can be surprisingly quick at times and block bullets, so you can't just pelt him with bullets like many of the other monsters. This is especially true in the brightly lit room of Harry's apartment, as staying in darkness on the roof (away from the lights) helps Heather hide from him due to his poor sight, giving her an advantage over Harry (plus the larger arena). Overall, the Missionary is a tool for Claudia to use, but he is a distinctly more intelligent and more human tool compared to the other monsters. The Book of Lost Memoires even mentions how "to Heather's eyes the appearance it takes is that of a monster," highlighting how it's more monstrous to Heather than in reality. Killing a more human monster makes it easier for her to follow her path of revenge toward Claudia, helping her fall into hatred that much easier. Plus, it makes sense that fighting a transfigured cult member will mark the changing point when we begin to learn more of Heather's past with the cult and her trying to confront the pain they made her suffer through.
Sorry for answering so briefly, it might look like I dismissed your whole argumentation, but I just had to go for a while. Anyway, it's fascinating, all of that, truly, and I can see that you're one diligent fan. But he also made a point that he only come to conclusions, which can be drawn from the trilogy, the games themselves, not data mining.
@@Maggerama Eh, I guess my problem is that seeing something as "goofy," I think only hinders the process of analyzing something by shadowing intentions. To me, aspects like his bad posture and sometimes wandering nature (which can quickly turn to bursts of speed against Heather) made him appear like a mixture of human and animalistic qualities. He's a bit mindless but with moments of intelligence (like with his blocking, matching Heather with her own new blocking mechanic). Not really scary, but still intense at times. But what I feel doesn't particularly matter; what matters is the Missionay's place in the narrative and themes, so being dismissive of him as "goofy" would only make analyzing any symbolism and intentions behind him more difficult. Not saying he can't personally feel that way, just that I don't think including that opinion helps when analyzing the game. Plus, he suggests that a person killing Harry would have been better, but the Missionary is (or at least was) a person who only killed Harry because Claudia wanted him to. So it was by Claudia's will that Harry died; the Missionary is mainly there as an extension of her will that Heather can fight. The focus is still human at its core. Heather pins all the blame on Claudia regardless, so I don't see what the Missonary's removal would achieve beyond losing an enemy for Heather to fight and engage with violence more.
@@joshuareesor1756 If you don't see the monster like that, you don't. I wouldn't even try to convince you otherwise since it's something strictly subjective, I suppose. And again, I agree with you in the context given mainaining that it wasn't that big a deal in terms of his analysis quality. Just a lighthearted jab.
Think you definitely over emphasized the alessa part: a lot of what i prefer is heathers perspective as a teenage girl. That female perspective is really important and deals with a lot of anxieties and fears. Obviously we have the phallic and womb imagery everywhere, but there are plenty of other things that resonate really strong. The amusement park comes to mind: a clash of girly innocence with adult fears
Watching this video makes it clear to me that SH3's protagonist being a girl really is an integral part of the story, which is not something a lot of games whom pride themselves on 'strong, empowered, realistic' female characters can say with confidence. For instance, any plot points about the birthing of God in SH3 wouldn't work if Heather had been a man instead, as pregnancy is something men simply don't experience the same way at all. It's a shame I never got into these games growing up, because they're so well made.
I really think that the big standout point for 3 is the sheer novelty of having a horror game structured around the female perspective specifically. It's honestly something that still hasn't been replicated to this level of quality since. Love how even the non-Alessa related locations and environments play on the "teenage girl experience" and the specific fears that can come out of it, like being alone in a shopping mall or stalked in the subway, or like you mentioned with the amusement park. It all feels genuinely novel and absolutely one of the strongest points in the games favor imo.
@@MrDeliworker Yeah, SH3 does a great job of amplifying the everyday fears of teenage girls into a surreal nightmare. Something I've just recently noticed in SH3 is that the number of women's bathrooms, locker rooms etc. that Heather can enter is significantly higher than the number of men's spaces she can enter. Maybe I'm reading too much into it but I wonder if that's supposed to play on female exclusion and sexist othering.
About silent hill 2 being inconsistent, I don't think that's actually the case. I'm assuming the God of the town hoped James would complete the ritual of the holy assumption, as it had left all the necessary ingredients to do so and used his desire to see Mary again to force him into it, it only failed when he accepted what he did and fought back, unlike Walter would do with the variant of the ritual. It's my take on it at least, especially since 3/4 of team silent's games are about resurrecting the same god, it only makes sense that 2 was really about that as well
I think Silent Hill has always had the ability to bring energies into reality. After the Alessa event, the energy of the place got permanently twisted and tainted, giving the town the ability to express one's inner darkness due to this tainting.
I also am under the assumption that Heather, being an incubator, would override everyone else's nightmares because the 'gods' are so close to being born. It's why Alessa's nightmare took over and why I assume Heather's feelings and nightmares would override Douglas and the others, dragging them into the Incubators nightmare.
@@blunderless SH4's combat can be a slog in comparison to the previous games and Henry is a charisma vacuum but I think people are overly harsh on it. I think in general people are just parroting back what reviewers and youtubers have said about it without playing it themselves.
Also, not to sound too dorky or anything, but thank you for not advertising some random brand in the first 30 seconds of your videos. You always come across as more sincere and genuine than a lot of the channels on here and is the reason I'm still subscribed and support on Patreon
Now THIS has been a long time coming. Since your Silent Hill 2 video, I got the chance to delve into the whole series and thoroughly enjoyed everything of it. Yes, even Homecoming and Downpour. But I wouldn't have done so without your two videos on SH thus far. Thank you for giving me the interest into looking back on a series I passed by for a while now.
From material I've seen, the town has a supernatural power to project the creatures and shape the environment. That's why the cult lived there specifically; the towns power could make it possible to birth their god. The town projected James's guilt, and Cheryl's fears. The incubator doesn't cause the silent hilliness, rather the power over the town does, for instance: when James no longer felt a need to be punished, it projected the pyramid heads ( James's punishers ) seeing themselves out. Their likely isn't any goal that the power has, and it simply does what it does like water not wanting to be wet or potentially dangerous. That's how I see it based on what I've found on the towns history. Great video!
1:21:40 Heather is beating dead horses. After doing that Alessa appears who looks a lot like Heather. I think it conveys Heather's ruminations and her inner turmoil. Trying to fight something already set in stone.
Not really. Team Silent is a Japanese studio so I'm certain that an English idiom would never occur to them on that deep of a level. Speaking as someone from Asia.
@@nguyenvanduy247 team silent did delve pretty deep into western culture when developing shs. 'Beating a dead horse' would be something they understand though unlikely
I always thought killing the horses was mainly to give Heather an obstacle to fight against when on the timer of the carousel, being parts of the carousel that she can fight, but not the carousel itself. She must fight against it to not become consumed by it, like how Claudia becomes consumed by the past pain of her father's abuse, willing to burn in Hell to try and escape that pain. Cycles of pain and rebirth are a huge part of Silent Hill 3, so Heather fights against a cycle and confronts a memory of her past pain within that cycle. She cannot destroy the cycle itself, there always being pain for people like her and Claudia to suffer through, but she can confront her desire for death from that pain and choose to continue living through it.
i love the sh2 route. everyone having their own nightmares projected sounds so insane and the possibilities are endlessly, but for consistency sake the cult stuff really keeps the series grounded. amazing video btw, always love hearing people talk about silent hill, especially the goat
1:41:50 you also forgot to mention, how in the previous "room" the street is nonsensically blocked by a car that wouldn't be parked that way by a normal person. Adds to your point) Also this might be redundant, but I believe the reason that sh3 doesn't seemingly play by sh2 rules (and mostly plays by sh1' ones) is that Heather is a reincarnation of Alessa, hence why horrors revolve around her and not other people's fears. Basically, SH1's supernatural powers revolve around Alessa and town got twisted because of it. SH2 being after SH1 events attracts other people with problems, while still possessing the fact that they got influenced by Alessa. In SH3, since supernatural powers got twisted after Alessa ritual, they by design get attracted primarily to Heather and "ignore" other people The other explanation is that SH2 on release wasn't successful and fans and critics were missing SH1, because of which SH3 was a direct sequel to SH1. You could say that because of that some inconsistencies were bound to happen One more thing - I find it mind-blowing the first real visit to Silent Hill in SH3 is done, it's brilliant in a way. Heather is a reincarnation of Alessa who was born in SH. The first part of town we visit is a copy of a place we play in SH2 and a memorable segment in that game. Basically Heather and player (that played SH2 before) have very similar emotions "revisiting" that part of town for the first time in SH3. It has a similar vibe that you described when talking about mirror room in that how emotions are being transferred to the player without interrupting gameplay in any way whatsoever
I think the changing rules also showcase the multiple influences that Silent Hill can fall under. Silent Hill 2 has a book called "Lost Memories" that describes how Silent Hill was called "'The Place of the Silent Spirits'. By 'spirits', they meant not only their dead relatives, but also the spirits that they believed inhabited the trees, rocks and water around them." So it presents Silent Hill as being influenced by human spirits and supernatural spirits beyond humans, which something like Vatiel can fit into. Since Heather is the focus of a ritual, the supernatural spirits focus on her instead of interacting with others. They have a purpose to fulfill and are not just casually existing like in 2. Silent Hill 2 focuses on the human elements, while the other 3 focus on the supernatural, though there's always some degree of influence from both sides no matter the game. Masahiro Ita, one of the leading charatcer designers, also adds to this point. He stated that one of the reasons the Closer looks so much like the Mandarin is to imply that Silent Hill itself has some input on each monster's "design" and is not just dependent on the individual's perspective. Both the individual's psyche and Silent Hill's supernatural power work together to create the monsters, so both kinds of spirits affect the "rules" of Silent Hill.
I always imagined that the cult from SH1 messed with the town enough that it became a sort of haunting ground since they tried to birth a god. Like the town went into a sort of autopilot, drawing from anyone who enters the town with massive trauma attached to them. If anything to do with the cult happens to come back, the town sort of prioritizes it. Also Heather would be an exception because she’s a sort of conduit for that weird Silent Hill energy and the same rules could apply to prominent members of the cult like Dahlia and Claudia.
I got a HDMI adapter for my PS2 so I could play my survival horror games, I'm currently playing Silent Hill 3, I didn't know about the sharp graphics menu, thank you so much it's made a big difference, and I thought I knew it all about these games
Maybe a little late, but a quick observation about the horse thing. It specifically mentions 13 becoming 4. 4 is considered an unlucky number because it sounds like death 死, however, the difference between 13 and 4 just so happens to be nine. This isn't as commonly known but 9 is also an unlucky number because it sounds like pain 苦. Therefore you can interpret it as a metaphor for suffering until death. Finally, bit of a stretch, but the a Mandarin character for mother also happens to involve horses 媽. The character isn't used in Japanese but the Mandarin word for mother also has horse in it. Therefore if we really extrapolate we can take the entire thing as a metaphor for a mother suffering until she dies. This is all a huge stretch but I thought I may as well bring it up considering that you made note of it.
This is an entirely less educated point of view but, I wonder if the carousel horse hitting bit was Alessa feeling as though the cults attempts to birth their god was just beating a dead horse because if it didn't work before why would it work this time?
I love that he started it just like the SH2 video, also I've been obsessed with his other videos, this man literally got me into the silent hill games just cause of the SH2 video, so I've been desperately waiting for this video XD
I think female players may have gotten more out of the monsters than male players. The slurpers specifically are very reminiscent of sexual assault in the way they attack- knocking heather over and crawling all over on top of her (not that women are the only ones who can suffer from sexual assault, but the MC is a teen woman and has probably dealt with creeps before). I'd be interested to hear female vs male players thoughts on the symbolism they took away from this game.
Another thing about the Slurpers is that I've interpreted the noise they make as sniffing the air with their noses. Combined with their low posture, phallic headgear and literally being called "slurpers," it's hard not to see them as predators looking for an upskirt.
I was saving this video for a while and I just finished 3. Fantastic video. You really dove into this series better than anyone else. I always enjoy this level of perspective for a video essay on such a strange set of games.
from what I have heard SH 2 and 3 where in development at the same time so with the way you explain looking at them both as being two alternent versions of the silent hill sequal was actually a lot more accurate than you realized
Didn't hear that Did hear that sh3 and sh4 were developed at the same time It would also be weird because sh3 is an answer to the backlash sh2 received on release for being too disconnected from sh1 storywise
11:00 There are hints that the town still affects bad people, though. Both Vincent and Claudia see the monsters, and Douglas, an innocent man, doesn't (at least as far as I know). Just like in how SH2, Laura was spared. She replies "what monsters?", clearly signifying she didn't see anything but an ordinary town. Plus, Alessa/Heather is herself the conduit. Now that her repressed memories have been awakened by Claudia and Vincent performing a new ritual, it makes sense that the paranormal activity is orbiting around her once again.
Regarding the "continuity issues" between SH1/SH3 and SH2, can't we just accept they´re different interpretations of a concept? Is it truly necessary for it to connect logically? That whole discussion has become kinda tiring.
@@pokespartytv8086 i don't see why anyone is trying to apply "logic and consistency" to a series of supernatural events which are left intentionally vague and open to interpretation. the creators of the games have never outlined hard and fast rules to the way silent hill as a town works. it being often inexplicable and having to come to your own conclusions about how things work is part of the fun. it's the same with a property like Twin Peaks; you can fit in pieces of the puzzle, but at the end of the day the ultimate answers are intentionally unknowable.
If it was meant to be taken as a different take then it shouldnt be a number, it should be a spin off like shattered memories was. The point is that if 3 wants to be a continuation of a linear story. Its only logical that 2 should follow the same logic. If you want to understand to more deeply connect with the media you consume these common threads becoming your understanding of the world as a whole
I really like the idea here that we got two different types of "Silent Hill 2". It makes every game in the OG trilogy feel purposeful and valid when put beside the others.
That mirror room is probably the most scared I have ever felt playing a video game (or from any media from that matter. After that happened I legit had to pause the game and lay on my bed for my heart rate to calm down
My jaw legit dropped when I saw this show up on my page! Your silent hill 2 review was incredible, so much so that I often go back to rewatch it every month. Honestly, your longform videos are always a treat to watch.
Right at the beginning, you mention "loss of innocence" as a theme, and past that point...a lot seems to get left out. There are so many themes of being female, not being in control of your own body, unwanted pregnancy, and sexual abuse/harassment. It's VERY obvious and if I recall one of the people who worked on the game has discussed these themes in the past.
@@thomasthefascisttankengine4694 Probably because you're not a woman or put much thought into empathising what being a woman would be like lol. hoping that you're just like a child or something b/c the thought of a fully ass grown ass man with a grown frontal lobe writing this makes me concerened
The problem is, these things just aren't in the game. Yeah, there's a barebones framework for that theme, but if you actually play it, it just wasn't added in. Like, sure, that would've been a cool game, but ultimately, that's not what the finished product is.
One of best and longest analysis I’ve seen in SH3. I’ve enjoyed every single word you’ve described about how self aware the game is and how much Heather as a character gotten herself involved into this. That how she alone is Alissa and she needs to fight against her inner most evil. Again this game has so much to talk about and that’s why I enjoy listening every detail of the games lore itself.
my head cannon as to why the triliogy happens in the order it does is: SH1: Harry kills the incubus and takes Heather. SH2: While Harry and Heather are away, after some time, Silent hill is rebuilt in some aspect and the otherworld is pulled back and reverts back to an ordinary town, and it is renovated to be a tourist attaction, and Cultists are doing rituals to try an remanifest their god and that is why the darkness of random people is drawn out to feed the power of the God so they can reattempt to birth god. SH3: After collecting enough energy from people's pain and agony, they find Heather and perform a ritual to implant incubus within her, and the dream of silent hill she has in the cafe is the moment the ritual is complete, and then the events of 3 kick off. and it is very convenient that Silent Hill 3 was the last installment in the series, and subsequent titles don't exist made by increasingly less members of team silent, slowly losing scope and vision of the original project, such that they have to pull some massive mental gymnastics to maintin cannon and insert a certain geometrical character into titles for fan service.
This is my favorite video game of all time, and I've gone through four PS2s in the past (almost) two decades purely so I always have a way to play SH3 whenever I need to. I can't recommend people play it enough.
I bet the Town of Silent Hill mods for the PC version of SH2 will become more translatable to sh3 with time. Sh3 had a a more stable PC port than 2 at launch. I highly recommend playing through with the upscaled textures and such for all that sweet, sweet detail, though the PS2 version is superior in a couple ways.
A friend in school once borrowed me Silent Hill 2 but I never got very far as what you were supposed to do while running around the titular town was too obscure to me, so I quickly gave it back to him much to his bewilderment and never really dove back into the series though I did collect the games just because I knew of their popularity and liked to have them. Then one day at a horror themed anime convention I found myself in the game room and in the half darkness saw this peculiar PS2 game on a screen from afar, like it was calling out to me. The image of a young girl standing with her back to the camera seemed somewhat familiar, and yet I knew I'd never played it. Then when I curiously decided to approach the abandoned console and pick up the controller I immediately recognized the style as Silent Hill and realized it was this game. I played for a bit and quickly fell in love with the dreaded atmosphere and the realistic ingenuity of the puzzles, like using a coat hanger to fetch something out of reach. I didn't play for long as I wanted to enjoy the rest of the game from the comfort of my own home, but suffice to say 3 that evening semented me as a fan.
The fun thing about how hard the final boss is to fight in melee? ...One of the game's unlockables is tied to finishing the final boss with a melee hit. No joke. You need to do that to unlock the unlimited machine gun. You don't need to fight the boss ENTIRELY in melee, but you absolutely need to finish it off with one.
It showed up a few times in the video but you didn't speak on it directly: End of Small Sanctuary (guitar track in the beginning of the game) is so beautiful. I put in my ears and took a long walk around my foggy college town one day and was just in all sorts of beautiful moods.
Oh wow this is FANTASTICALLY timed considering I just got into Silent Hill over the past week and thought "Man I wish TGB had done SH3 too but it doesn't seem as popular as the first two so probably not." Glad to be wrong
Great video, through and through. 29:05 fun fact: the BLOCK move was already in SH2, but it seriously was both poorly documented, and really not even needed. Yeah, I only learned of this thing myself a couple years ago, no matter having played the game dozens of times in the past 20 years.
Timeline wise makes the most sense that 2 is first, by around the time of alessas birth, the person with the strongest emotions influeing a not cognitively developed infants psychic powers. Silent hill gets to be nice before hand, lil fucked after 2, turns everyone to drugs for 1 and keeps it shit for 3
Then ofcourse there's also Silent Hill 4, which has to take place less than 10 years after Silent Hill 2, because Walter Sullivan's death was already referenced in that game.
I like thegamingmuses explanation where silent hill was always a sacred place, an area with power and a cult working in it. Then the events with alessa happen and she pours her own psychic power into the town. So it’s like double action and alessa changes everything using her power and the towns power to create manifestations of her memories and traumas. Then after she leaves the town is left with the residual power to enact on others who need the therapy like alessa.
It makes the most sense, really. The town's power is probably what attracted the cult in the first place. I swear I go through the comments on these SH videos waiting to see someone mention Muse
The office building and the construction area levels of SH3 have always stood out to me as some of my favorite locales in any bit of fiction. I’m not sure why. To this day I adore them.
The team definitely took a risk at creating a game that is strictly scary only for very specific camps of people. Unlike James whose story is very well-told and Harry whose fear of fatherhood is easily understandable, Heather’s fear is the fear of womanhood and being stalked. It’s scary because it highlights the danger of growing up: period, pregnancy, motherhood, “r*ped.” But those fears aren’t always relatable.
One thing I love about this game is just a simple yet effective image: one where a monster is turning wheels just below two pairs of legs draped in red dresses and black shoes in what appears to be a boiler room. Likely an apparation of Alessa's body split in two. But at first, I thought to myself "what IS that?" Very nice work, Team Silent
1:39:40 through 1:46:03 - This just really paints a blunt picture of how much of a fucking disaster a Kojima directed game in this series would actually be. Everyone praises P.T. like it's this big revolution in horror but at it's core it's just an edgy haunted house, that's all it's got. Kojima is so far up his own ass that he indulges too much in tropes, references and tired narrative gimmicks to craft his interactive movies. He confuses convoluted for actually complex, he takes way too long to state the obvious, he explains the magic far too often and he would not think twice about injecting a glut of jump scares claiming they are _"another faithful callback to the horror genre"._ Pretty much the Anti-Araki, all the self indulgent throwing shit at the wall, none of the actual creativity or skill to back it up. Whatever Silent Hill game he comes up with would just be like the second Silent Hill movie (so basically another Homecoming)........ (sigh) .......and people would still love him for it because they just that easy to please. All they want is another cheap haunted house pretending to be more deep than it actually is.
I think you are forgetting that this is Lovecraft style horror through a Japanese lens. In Japanese horror they kinda like to leave things vague. They will explain things up to a point and then stop and you with is vague unexplainable thing you are left with. Why did the curse happen in the The Grudge. If it was as simple it is explained in the movie than why aren't there more of them. Look at Junji Ito's works. Even if there is an explanation do they ever make that much sense? Part of this kind of Japanese horror is how unexplainable and vague it is.
HOLY FUCK! I've seen almost every Silent Hill 2 analysis out there but yours was objectively the best and probably the only one I've seen that makes a conscious point to analyze the game 1. on it's own merits and 2. from the standpoint of its release. It's also the only one I've seen that attempts to disentangle the lore aspect of 2 after the lore of 1. I've gone back and watched it many times because its damn near cathartic. I am so so excited to watch you dive into this one!
really appreciated the whole diatribe just about the mirror room (and the mystery phonecall which is also great for its own reasons). it's obviously a highlight but there's a lot of value to be had in talking about how. up until that point there's been a lot of abstract scares across all 3 games, and all 3 have there own unique bits, but the way the mirror room works being this super gradual thing that never really leaps out at you, just compounds into this horrible situation is great. the black tendrils are a great example of a primitive but highly effective choice of visual imagery and the way the game specifically plays with your reflection is great too. even the way the camera angles are setup so you have to either see the door or mirror is a great choice because on a first time you have no idea what your reflection is going to do - if it might end up hostile or not. so there's an unnerving element to having it out of view and of course the door arbitarily closing itself is the last vital part to the scene. its also pretty vital that the room actually damages you, though i suppose i wish it was slightly more gradually done. obviously you want the player to feel stressed, but i died to to this room the first time i was in it and it made it slightly less impactful revisiting it again to see if id missed anything and to "beat" it. if i had gotten out alive on that first go i probably just never would've touched it again, and i think it would've stood out more as this totally optional isolated little bit of madness.
SH3 is probably the first horror media I experienced that had a distinctly "female fear" focus, compared to the more neutral or masculine fears of other stuff i'd seen, or even the previous two games. This for sure isn't the first horror media that focused on fears of women, but I do think its one of the best. I think the things this game discusses are rather bold, which is saying something considering Angela's subplot from the previous title, and I think they can get a bit exploitative, but they're effective nontheless. I do think my favorite thing about this game is its overt mood. Aggressive, gritty, vaguely frustrated and angry. This is probably the most visually intense game in the franchise, which only matches Heather's aggressive personality.
I found it kinda funny how he missed some references and designs that are thematically linked with women fears. Like, "what the fat rotten guy inside a train in a narrow corridor means!"
@@MiloKuroshiro yeah at the 20 minute point he lost me for a bit because a lot of the monsters are themed around a teen girls fears, it’s not that hard to pick up on. Dunno maybe it’s hard to spot for guys
@@altermann6753 if I had a dollar every time a PS2 game used a young women being reduced to her womb by the antagonist I would have two dollars, which isn't a lot but it's weird that happened twice lol.
What drove it home for me was the walk home through the train station and the sewers and the office complex. Dark, lonely, scary, it perfectly creates the fear of walking home late at night with a pocket full of change while something or someone could jump you from anywhere. A shame this is the only game that does this aside from SH2's Born from a Wish Expansion. SH Shattered Memories was originally going to star a psychology school student but was later reworked to be a "reimagining" of the first game. Can't wait for Gaming Brit to tear into that one.
@@altermann6753 I never had an issue with it. I think part of the issue is trying to come up with some sort of square peg-square hole logical world building lore stuff to explain everything. I think the red rust motif is part of the blood motif in the game, the very VERY obvious blood motif. Or the train platform sequence. The heavy breathing of someone watching her and coming up behind her, even as a guy I can understand that being scary for heather. Evidently it’s all up to interpretation, but I never really had an issue identifying those things, considering how good a job the game does at putting you in heather’s boots and mindset.
Despite having played and seen countless analysis of these games I got something new from this. The way you explained Heather's manifestations shortly after reflecting her recent experiences was really insightful.
Finally got to finishing this analysis. Stellar look into the game, though the way you spoke of the "Trilogy" over and over again has me greatly worried. See, it's not a trilogy. It's a quadrilogy. Silent Hill 4, and I will say this bold faced, is just as much a part of the original franchise as the other games and more than earns its place. People can talk about stock sound effects or hit/miss experimental mechanics all they want, the game tried something different rather than continuing off the same formula. And in my opinion, it's the scariest of the original 4 titles. I would also argue it has THE best story. Mind you, it's plot isn't nearly as direct or witty as the other games and its protagonist is dry, but that's to not steal the thunder away from the villain who is hands down one of THE most fucked up videogame antagonists I've ever seen. Walter Sullivan and his goals put a more grounded and demented spin on the Silent Hill cult; not being an active member, but a child who grew up under their influence and practices who winds up trying to twist one of their rituals to his benefit for the purpose of... Well, no spoilers. The greatest part of the game is that it plays out like a slowly unwraveling mystery, and unlike with most horror, it actually DOES get more messed up the more you realize what's going on because it reframes EVERYTHING you see throughout the game, right down to why you're traveling through long winding tunnels to get to the different worlds and I dare not spoil that for people who have not played it.
I really hope he covers the 4th, I've been loving this series so far and 4 gets excluded and neglected so much that it's not really a surprise that some don't realize it exists. In TGB's defence, this video is framed in a way that focuses on Silent Hill games that were out at the time of release of SH3, which naturally would exclude Silent Hill 4: The Room.
I'm honestly not sure if that's good enough for me, seeing as Silent Hill 3 and 4 actually shared development time and teams in the background. Essentially, 4 was a known factor even for its time.
@@Impalingthorn oh yeah that possibility didn’t even come to me before your mentioning. Idk how publicized it was back then though, and even if it was, we don’t know how knowledgeable TGB is on that history.
@@Impalingthorn I just want to express how much I love you advocating for SH4 because we’re in the same boat (i don’t know if I made that clear), I absolutely adore Silent Hill 4: the room. In my eyes, it opened a whole new chapter after silent hill 3’s satisfying bookend, as if making the statement “oh no, this isn’t over yet”, and I think that makes the game and Silent Hill as a whole that much more heavy and intimidating. Part of me wonders if it would be included more of it never had the “The Room” subtitle attached to it because maybe it lessens the big 4 that is right before it for some people, leading them into the impression that it’s more of a spin off than a proper main installment/sequel to the series.
@@Zeeboq There are a lot of people that think it "isn't" even a Silent Hill game which, being frank, is just wholly untrue. Looking up any interviews or discussions from Akira Toriyama and his team of that time will show the amount of thought and depth that went into its creation, especially when they refer to it as a "proper sequel" and speak about their concerns when it came to how different the game would be. From the get go, they wanted to base it more on Japanese themes of horrorand had a general theme of "change" and "corrosion" that they feared people would reject. They went forward despite those fears and, unfortunately, the fanbase largely did reject it. And when observing a lot of the criticism leveled at the game, it just feels like most people hate it because it's different rather than it being bad. Yeah, there's jank in the game, but EVERY Silent Hill game has that. When you judge it by its own merit, it brings a TON of really cool, horrifying things to the table and puts forward a story that rivals even Silent Hill 2. Most people will never give it that chance, though. It's different, so it "isn't" a Silent Hill game. Nevermind its neighboring franchise Resident Evil where RE4 did dramatically different things to the point that it LITERALLY wasn't a Resident Evil game, started out as the prototype for Devil May Cry, and basically was the reason the franchise took a nosedive into campy action set pieces and away from horror.. Yet it's still largely embraced by its community simply because it's "fun".
![[Mr Caption] No Todds, No Masters critique Fallout 4 (reupload)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/zbaa2P9qL40/mqdefault.jpg)
Now THIS is a FULL ANALYSIS!
I love you Grim Bread. You're my favorite underrated channel.
GOTH GAMER NATION🖤🖤
Eeeeeeeey I know this boy. It's the X-files guy.
SAMMMYY!!!
We need a full review in your iconic, sleepy bird voice.
One little cool detail I notice that perhaps forgot to mention or didn't notice is when Heather finds Harry dead and cries out on his body, her clothes gets covered in blood, Harry's blood.
So in a sense that means Harry is with Heather all the way till the end.
;_; Im not crying. YOURE CRYING
+@@Anonymous-rl6eh We're all crying
oh wow, thats so cool! i noticed that the bloodstained appeared, but i thought it was maybe from killing a certain number of enemies or something
The presentation of Silent Hill 3 has always been insanely impressive. The models all look fantastic to this day and the environments are just so rich
It still holds up to this day even with little to no upscaling.
2
Meh the first 3/4 part of the Game is very bland and Boring .
@@rop7101 how much so?
I was really surprised playing it on emulator and seeing how it looks better than alot of ps3 games with a resolution bump, insane work team silent did
Oh my god thank you so much for this. I'm an Amazon delivery driver; I love listening to podcasts while working these 10 hour shifts. You just gave me something to look forward to tomorrow thank you :D
Thank you so much for what you do!
How hard is that job, I can't fathom working for amazon and being treated like a roach with no real security, the threat of being replaced right away because you get sick one day. I really hope we have labor strikes like the old days and unionize, we really should put some fear into these evil companies again.
@@timdillon4876 The first month is the most difficult. You will be exhausted daily. Your body will ache and you won't be doing much outside of work except low effort tasks while you build muscles and learn the ropes around the job and your route. After a while, you see daily challenge and address them. I'm 9 months into this job on my 2nd DSP (Delivery Service Provider or contractor) so overtime I have amassed ways to make the job more comfortable. Im in Florida so I have to contend with the heat.
I wear arm and leg anti-uv sleeves to keep me cool. I wear superlight sweat whisking fitness shirts. I bring 2 liters of ice cold water in an insulated bottle. I wear expensive but extremely comfortable running shoes (Thank you HOKA!). For the rain I have nice water-proof timberland shoes and a branded rain jacket so I stay dry. For packages, I take a marker and write "reference numbers" on them to quickly seek them out in a packed van. My Google pixel earbuds accompany me daily. I have RUclips premium and have several hundreds of songs/albums/podcasts downloaded since my route has super poor data connection. Lastly, about 3 months ago I trained to drive the step-vans (the same vans UPS and Fedex drivers use) because it has significantly more space and is MUCH less taxing on your body.
I am now 9 months into the company. I consistently have the largest package count at my DSP. Yet it doesn't bother me. For months i am in "zen mode" because I have made this job as comfortable as I can. I actually enjoy doing what I do. Because despite the hard work. It has positively impacted my health. I'm type 2 diabetic and slowly this job has been slowly curing my illness (so to say) and its chill most days. I just listen to music/podcasts and deliver packages all day. No screaming clients. No asshole managers (my current DSP is really nice!). Bi-weekly bonuses because I excel at what I do. In my experience, and with my life circumstances. This job was actually a blessing. I think I'll stay here for 2 years max. Hopefully my blood sugar will be normal levels by then.
Also you being terminated is highly dependent on your DSP. I broke a community gate the first month into my job yet they didn't fire me because my DSP really likes my work ethic and performance. But other shittier DSP's would drop you instantly. Even if you were a great driver. I feel bad for those drivers in those situations because good work ethic should be rewarded.
Sorry for the long response in a Silent Hill video of all things, but your comment made me appreciate my current circumstances lol.
It’s a labor intensive job.
Technically you work for Amazon but (most)drivers work for third party companies that bought the right to open a facility in your area. It. I worked for the KC “three trails” company and the owners worked right beside us. They took care of you, lots of bonuses, and lots of opportunities for raises.
It all depends on the owners.
@@Azavea
Really messed up how they either post bogus crap where & whenever possible, or manage to brainwash a few people into believing their propagan-tastic garbage for regurgitation purposes.
Regardless; Amazon is shit, & subcontractors are all shit-tainted as well. Nothing good comes from working for Amazon.
I wish we learned more about Douglas and Vincent. Douglas' story about his kid dying is perfect psychological fodder for a Silent Hill game. Vincent on the other hand is such an interesting, strange character I just wanted more of his dialogue. "Monsters? They looked like Monsters to you?" being perhaps my favorite ambiguous line in a SH game.
This. That Vincent line has always been one of my favourites, and the best part is that there's no reason to discredit what he says. Despite the whole game Vincent has played himself to be deceitful and arrogant, I've always come out of that cutscene with the thought of, "What if he is telling the truth?" In the back of my head. And I can't help but imagine it would be in character for Heather to wonder the same thing, after the fact. The twisted grin on Vincent's face as he tries to play up what he just said is a joke, then smugly lifting his glasses back up his nose, makes the scenario even more ambiguous. It always made me unsure whether what he just said has any credit at all. It's so wonderfully done, and timed perfectly, if such a moment were to happen earlier in the game, I don't think it would've had more weight.
@@trainingben. Right?? I LOVE that line! You can't trust a thing he says, but his expression during that line is nine kinds of sincere. I truly believe he was telling the truth, then quickly backtracked in order to assuage Heather and keep her on her path of destruction.
@@WobblesandBean Yep, you explained it perfectly. It's a fantastic display of body language and character design. Mixed with a little twistedness. Vincent has proved that the Otherworld suits him just fine, and even at the end of the game he encourages Heather to kill Claudia, before being killed himself. For Vincent, I imagine an ideal world for him would be the Possessed ending for Heather.
@@trainingben. Vincent's twistedness is even integrated into the small details of his facial design. He has missing and decaying teeth, contrasting with his classier attire, that you only get to see when he similes (often with a sadistic joke).
His eyes also have strange properties, with his left pupil being larger than the other, and one eye always looks at the player while the other looks slightly away towards the camera. It gives the subtle feeling that something is off about him, but without close inspection, you can't tell why (matching Heather's own feelings about him).
3 is full of details like this, like Claudia having no eyebrows to make her facial expressions more difficult to read, with this attention to detail helping the graphics still hold up even to this day.
I've always like the theory that Douglas shoots the bank robber dead and then realizes its actually his son. The guilt and sorrow he would feel from realizing he killed his own son would fit Silent Hill extremely well.
SH3 is kind of overlooked because everyone loved 2 so much. I think it would be more fondly remembered if it was the 2nd game in the series and James' journey was the 3rd game. That way you kind of get Alessa part 1 and part 2 then something unique.
I disagree. I think they made the right choice here. If you want an anthology series, you need to start as early as the second installment. Halloween didn't do that, and that's why every installment other than 3 is the Michael Myers Variety Hour. On top of that, it's a natural progression. Silent Hill 2 went to much more somber and depressing places, but was also very chill. Silent Hill 3 raised the stakes, with the most virulent manifestations the series has seen to date. Not to mention, the first 2 games as well as all the other games beside 3 in the series star men south of middle age who pretty much have little left to lose at that point. Silent Hill 3 stars a teenager who still has her whole life ahead of her. Horror tends to strike a lot harder when you're a more vulnerable character. All that combined with the best music of the series and one hell of an amazing ending makes Silent Hill 3 the perfect swan song for the original trilogy.
As far as I’m aware, they didn’t intend to continue the story left off from 1 at the time hence why they decided to do it here when making the third entry.
They clearly had different intentions for the 2nd game, and to say this should’ve been the actual 2nd game would kind of ignore the differences of technological advances and advantages both games had.
Yeah but it deserves to be overlooked. It has more to do with the original concept than 2, to be fair, but doesn't have as strong of a thematic core or character narrative. Ultimately the villain is just a slasher, and the whole experience is more mundane horror than any of the previous instalments. Maybe it was an attempt to bridge the ideas of 1&3 and 2, and expand the lore of the town, but on its own it really wasn't as interesting.
Silent hill 3's facial animation was next level when it came out, heather especially in th mall meeting the PI emoting in real-time in-game cutscene blew me away when I saw it for the first time, also the realtime shadows I feel was another benchmark of the game at the time
I'm pretty sure the different techniques they used to make the walls bleed and morph were an industry first as well...
Time to bring out the popcorn.
following this video up by a Rixer vid you bet. good night tonight
@@DSL_Returns gravy's good tonight
2 things:
1. I'm disappointed you didn't talk about the transition from the regular mall to the otherworld mall. The shortest transition in the series so far, literally a straightforward walk towards the back door, but sets up the game rather well. I also enjoy the sunset from that alley, it's the game saying "enjoy it while it lasts, this is literally the brightest part of the game".
2. While I love this game, one thing about the development history makes me yearn for the SH3 we didn't get. In the original plans for SH3, it was not supposed to have direct connections with the cast of the first game and was supposed to be about a teenage girl who was pregnant being affected by Silent Hill. I think that it would still be possible to make a game like that. Games like Rule of Rose prove you don't need to piggyback off of Silent Hill's lore to tell a story of symbolism and nightmares.
Other than that, 10/10 on your analysis. You talked about everything and I do mean everything.
SH3 is my favorite SH title and we should totally get more femme focused horror media-- something like the original plans for SH3 is we really need right now
The sh3 we didn’t get sounds worse honestly
I’m still in disbelief that The Silent Hill 2 Analysis is over 2 years old.
I can still vividly remember watching the SH2 video on my 30 minute lunch break. Then later watching the rest of the video when I was back home.
Not all too fond of 2020, but I sure do feel all giddy inside whenever I see a GBS game-analysis.
I was starting to wonder if this video would ever get made since its been so long. Lol
I hope SH4 doesn't take so long.
Funny thing is. Vincints words towards heather when she mentions the monsters. "They look like monsters to you?" my first thoughts when I heard this the first time was this guy is twisted and the monsters just dont seem like monsters to him, like he's a demon who sees nothing abnormal about the monsters
Same, that’s always been my interpretation. Not that the monsters have changed physically depending on who you are, but he perceives them socially as servants of his god. He thinks their horrific misshapen nature is normal.
I just see it as him being cruel and openly admitting he's trying to fuck with Heather.
This makes sense, but remember that the Missionary, the monster who killed Harry, actually could understand and follow orders. What kind of monster follows human orders? Maybe it's just Heather who sees the person who killed her father as a monster
Or meybe Heather see people as monsters and Vincent is seeing her hurt people as Vincent is more of a monster anyway , evil judges less
But in part 2 the little girl Laura I think wanders around and doesn’t see monsters it’s more likely they’re cult members.
The point about Silent Hill being about good parenthood, especially regardless of blood, strikes a really personal chord with me. RUclips comments isn't the place to get into detail, but just know that it hits home.
Helps that I didn't get that message until this video, too. Thanks for your analysis, man.
The answer to your confusion of the monsters - of them being less specific to any individual, Alessa or Heather or Claudia - is that they all shared fears relating to being victimised for being a woman and of pregnancy. With Claudia, it's more implied that stated, but still: all of them either experienced or saw the direct impacts of the danger of large, violent men, loss as a direct result of a pregnancy, disgust over their own bodies, etc.
Victor is deliberately trying to mess with people, so he shouldn't be taken as a reliable source, but he is actually right; Claudia became just like Dahlia and her father, sexually and psychologically abusing an incarnation of Alessa for her own benefit. I can't imagine a worse nightmare for her.
Ultimately, men are - in the game - simply presented as lacking any real agency, not directly effecting the plot besides their ability to inflict violence at the behest or to protect a girl. The game is showing how women can perpetuate and enable the suffering of other women.
The themes of pregnancy and the victimisation of women are ever-present. If you'd like to know more about that symbology, The Gaming Muse made some content relating to this.
She's amazing
@@Mike419T Muse? He's a man :)
also, the "sperm monster" (numb body) has a head that looks like a cervix, no one really points that out. The symbolism of the monsters feel super obvious to me, but idk I've been a teenage girl afraid of pregnancy so, different perspectives ig.
I'm sorry, but this is pure nonsense. Claudia isn't a victim in any way, shape or form, Alessa's issues had *nothing* to do with men, she was carrying a nascent god - men were not involved in that. Only women and the god were.
As for Heather - no? At best you could stretch the stalker into leaning into that theme, but otherwise there's nothing that would even begin to imply that.
@theMoporter I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to agree with @SyndicateOperative on this.
Claudia is revealed to have been physically abused by her father, but nothing suggests that it was sexual.
Alessa was abused by her mother, and by extension members of the cult at large.
Heather wasn't abused at all. In fact, she loved Harry and is grateful to him even despite learning about what he felt taking her home after SH1. The main theme song of the game "You're Not Here" is a direct tribute to Harry and a mourning of his passing from Heather's perspective.
Omg I been so ready for this ever since you said about making a video on a "door simulator". I'm soooo excited, thank you father
SH3 might be my favorite out of the 3. The minor gameplay improvements, the brand new environments outside Silent Hill, the little bits of humor thrown in, and the Heather’s story all kinda just all click with me.
Also you gotta appreciate the guts this game had to not only kill Harry off, but to do it with no fanfare offscreen sometime between the mall and the apartment. It definitely also helps with making you also want to go after Claudia. Even then, Harry leaving the pendant to Heather at the end also helps her to save the day, so even in death he was still looking out for his daughter.
Edit: I suppose I should say of the series, not of the 3. That was less a dig at 4 and more just I kinda wasn’t thinking too much with the phrasing.
"The 3", my guy, the Japanese studio made the 4th one too
@@XGames-94 i dont think they count 4 as a sh game lol
@@iwasagirlineldiadoingalrig7290 it's probably the people who drooled over P.T, even though the only thing silent hill related with that game was the name.
Silent Hill 4 deserves a lot more recognition than it gets, definitely more than 3. Every game specializes at something and while 3 is no doubt still great from a story aspect, it is largely retreading Silent Hill 1's footsteps plot wise and started the trend of heavier combat emphasis. Silent Hill 4, flaws aside, brought an entirely original story to the table that used the Silent Hill mythos as a means of crafting something unseen and truly disturbing more than any of the other games. Its story might not be as witty as 2's, but it easily stands toe-to-toe in terms of presentation and execution.
Yeah Harry’s death was brilliant and silent hill fans are better than last of us fans for not raging over a good scene like that
I really appreciate that all the observations are from the actual game itself. It’s good, because for me, I didn’t really appreciate the Silent Hill games until I actually learned the story and what it’s trying to say through the actual game. I watched the Twin Perfect videos and read the Silent Hill wiki, but it wasn’t until I actually paid attention to the games’ themselves that I realized just how great these games are. Reading the memos, looking and paying attention to the environment, and most importantly examining a lot of the stuff in the game world. For SH3 in particular, a lot of findings in the game you can only examine once, and then if you examine it again it will only give the last line of it.
Imagine being a kid in the 90’s and only having the first silent Hill game to go off of with lore.
I remember spending so many months and years until SH2 came out trying to figure out what the heck happened in SH1 and reading FAQ’s about lore on GameFAQ’s from someone like PresidentEvil etc, SH3 definitely spelled things out much clearer than we had things before
TRSHE was pretty funny, will remain a classic among the newer retrospectives to me.
Being much younger, I had to find out about this series after the fact. I had read about them on wikipedia and how they would make a lot of horror top ten lists. It wasn't until Jordan Underneath's videos that I felt a desire to hunt down and play at the very least the first four games in the series. It does kind of suck that the only way people know about this series in any way is through spoiler heavy retrospectives and I put the blame on Konami. All they had to do to keep the series relevant was to make sure competent ports were made for PC and upcoming consoles, but in the exact inversion of those responsibilities, they threw away the code that made some of these masterpieces, leading to the flaws of the Silent Hill HD collection, which was the beginning of this series's tragic death. It's ironic that a series that explored abuse and mishandling was itself abused and mishandled by the company that held the rights.
Regardless, I'm glad I play through these games on that PS2 I picked up at a garage sale. Anakin Skywalker was right: sometimes, the archives just don't hold a candle to experiencing it for yourself.
@@bluecoin3771 lol nicely said. These games came out slowly over many years as I was growing up and I grew up with this franchise.
It is a travesty watching how Konami has torn it apart, but Team Silent was a burning star in a dark void. They made what they could in the time they had and vanished, and their games live on.
When I played SH3 for the first time back when it was released, I assumed that Heather was like James, a disconnected story. It was only at the office building section when everything clicked and then I realized that I was playing with the reincarnation of Alessa that Harry adopted. The game went up to an 11 at that point, only to find Harry killed and mix the horror with despair and rage. That was a freaking rollercoaster of emotions, and “Hometown” at the credits was the cherry on top.
Thanks for the analysis. I’ll see you guys in 10 years when he covers SH 4.
All good things come to those who wait
He doesnt see too fond of 4, imo
@@Jose-se9pu How do you figure?
Well he keeps referring to the Silent Hill games as a "trilogy" for starters. It has me worried too because SH4 is actually my favorite entry, even more than SH2.
This makes me believe he's one of the people who genuinely believe Silent Hill 4 was made by a different studio and was some sort of spinoff project when that was never the case, it just shared a development period with SH3. The Room was just their first real shot at trying something different and it had a John Carpenter's The Thing effect; diehard fans and reviewers thrashed it at the time, but over the years people more and more have begun recognizing it for all the great things in the game.
@@Impalingthorn You did take a note of that part in the beginning, where Brit emphasized that "Like with the previous two games, my analysis will in no way take into account titles released after the subject at hand"? He addresses it as a trilogy, because that's what it is for the purposes of this analysis and would have been at this point in the series' lifespan.
And Brit did state in his recent Van Helsing gameplay Stream, that he does intend to tackle Silent Hill 4 in due time, though he's not gonna rush into it right after this one. So rest assured, he's not going to ignore it.
21:43 There's a video by someone named RagnarRox specifically about this monster where they explain their interpretation and how it reflects Heather's body issues; with bulbous lips for a face, high heels, and a skirt that's way too short.
They also went further to explain how it relates to the game as a whole having major themes of feminine vulnerability, something Heather would be very afraid of not just as a teen girl, but also from the nature of silent hill 3's plot. My mind was blown when I heard that interpretation, it made so much of the game slide right into place.
I'm honestly surprised at how he missed all of that with how in depth he goes with other things. Maybe for me who is AFAB (Assigned Female At Birth) the themes of forced pregnancy, sexual abuse and harassment are super easy for me to pick up. That shits trauma central.
@@maybemablemaples2144 yeah! I noticed how most people (specifically men) miss on that or just straight up dismiss it when someone else mentions it saying "it's not that deep" kinda sad because the implications are pretty obvious imo
@@bettywr6251 It's because it's never even slightly implied to be related to her character. She never gives the player any reason to believe those themes match her, nor does she react to them as if they meant anything to her beyond "big scary monster".
If anything, it uses the same logic as the half-life 1 monsters - arbitrary spooky, gross-out designs designed to evoke terror for the players. We aren't going to argue that gordon freeman has to fight the headcrab mother because he has a fear of a testicle-spider, are we?
@@SyndicateOperative her body issues have definitely been implied. In the bathroom when you click on the mirror she says 'I don't like mirrors.' And she's a teenage girl, almost every teenage girl experiences body issues
@@SSILKMOONStill it doesn't mean that the monsters themselves are a manifestation to that in particular, the game does include many negative things some teenagers deal with in general, including smoking addiction, stranger danger, stalking etc... though Heather herself doesn’t seem to react strongly to any of it and the only things that really tie into the game are stuff related with the forced pregnancy especially in the last stretch of the game where we also see Fukuro lady (who originated from a short test film for SH2 which Ito said was a depiction of the womb).
People do seem to read into some things more than they really are at times. Just like how for the longest time people thought that Pyramid head was "raping" the mannequins in SH2 only for Masahiro Ito to shoot it down.
I always felt that in SH2 there was like a strength rule. When James encountered Eddie and Angela late in SH2, their otherworld entirely overwrote what James was seeing, that's because (I think) they were WAY more far gone and their nightmare was stronger. In SH3, Heather doesn't see any monsters from anyone else because her nightmare's at 100% full strength all the time because she's got a lil god baby
Never would have thought about it like that. New head cannon
That first part is probably true I think. But for SH3 I don't think it's because she has a god baby but because we're seen throughout the game following after Claudia, and in the first part of the game she was already in the mall where Heather was. Notice as well how the game gets progressively scarier the closer we reach her and notice her desperation. I believe what we're seeing throughout the game is mostly Claudia's own nightmare. Heather seems to recognize her own (aka Alessa's nightmare) but she's able to disassociate from it in a way by recognizing that she is and isn't her.
I kinda assumed that the energies within the town react to strong emotions and trauma, that after the events of 1 people could periodically end up drawn to it and their minds populate it in a shotgun spread of creation. However, when the energy is channeled for a specific purpose it ignores all other inputs and instead manifests for that purpose. So the Rituals in 3 and 4 manifested the target and the caster's impression of them.
I'll defend the quiz show sequence in SH2. For me it reinforced the idea and feeling that you are in a nightmare. We've all had that dream where something kind of out of place happens, and even our dream selves think it's odd
Oh man, been looking forward to this. GamingBrit has got some top tier analysis. But, ironically, I still haven't finished SH3, yet! So I'm leaving a comment and a like to support the channel and will try to return once I've gotten around to a finished playthrough! Because if every single one of Brit's previous videos are anything to go by, I will absolutely love this one too!
you can beat it in like 4-5 hours
Literally the only thing helping me develop
@@whodatninja439 Yeah, I was playing through the series back in 2021, but real life was starting to get a little too heavy for me to be playing these also pretty heavy games. So their length wasn't really the factor that got me to stop
I swear every top comment now on YT videos are someone sucking the video content creator off in some way, or it’s a quote of a funny meme or line from the video itself lol love u
@@casedistorted you don’t have many friends do you?
Speaking of parenting and kindness as a theme, SH4 also explored that albeit it much less so. Sullivan abandoned by his parents, delusional about an apartment being his mother, misogynistic from the abandonment, abused by the cult and the adults in his life, driven to murder by Valtiel in his mind. Yet the only person he failed to murder was Eileen who shown kindness to him, and he couldn't do it as he was stopped by "kid Walter" which represents his remaining innocence.
11:08 I believe silent hill 2 states something to the effect that the town still has spiritual stuff from the first game. But the cultists aren't around and there's no alessa. So when people come to the town it simply manifests there stuff till something stronger like a God returns
Of course then it's like who gave James a letter. Did he ever really have a letter. And if it was the town how does that work? But it's the band aid they put for the 2nd game.
Oop you basically said that a bit later I'm sorry
@@magnenoalex2 It's a blank piece of paper at the end of the game. I think it's right after you watch the videotape.
@@magnenoalex2 Actually I just looked it up. After the Eddie fight the writing dissappears. After the videotape the letter dissappears. Laura also gives James a letter from Mary when you encounter her in the hotel, which is likely the letter read during the final scene.
I really disagree with the "SH2 ruins the mythology of 1 and 3" argument.
A. Alessa is still alive in the form of Heather during SH2. That allows SH2 right there.
B. I don't understand how Heather going to SH hurts her story. If she can see the monsters anywhere, why would she go to SH and then NOT see them there? That would be silly. It feels like you're kinda finding ways to poke holes in 2.
Like you said, 2 can happen right after 1, it only feels weird if 2 takes place closer to 3. Basically, the town had its underlying sinister edge even before Alessa was born. Who's to say the Cult didn't put some curse on the town to punish "sinners" years before that, and Alessa simply brought this from your standard curse trope to the huge jump into "nope, you're actually going to hell if you come here with too many burdens"?
There is no reason 2 and 4 don't work. Even Homecoming and Origins work within the towns rules, despite other flaws. But I've noticed ppl who prefer 3 will find a way to try to argue why 2 is weaker, which takes away from just focusing on the good things in 3.
Also, why can't SH3's monsters just be a combination of A. The fears of a teenage girl, mixed with the divine soul of Alessa, and B., because of A, creatures like Valtiel being "real" creatures of the Order's religion, who's designs don't need to be metaphors if they're in their true form? I believe Valtiel is Valtiel all the time. It's not like Homecoming where Pyramid Head feels completely out of place. And ironically that game nailed the idea of monsters born from each of the 4 families' histories.
I prefer both SH 1 and 3 over 2 and I don’t really understand his issue with the “rules” of the town either. It feels like he’s arguing about power levels in dragon ball or something. How the town is manifesting the nightmare feels less relevant then the minute to minute gameplay, story, and visuals.
I understand the want for consistency but I think he presents it as more convoluted then it is. The town has spiritual power before the cult moves in, the cult perverts the spiritual power, then the town becomes a weirdo supernatural hot spot cult. I don’t know why the supernatural needs explain itself like a magic system, it can just be as simple as the town is a paranormal hell hole.
@@altermann6753 I think your Dragon Ball analogy was perfect tbh. Again I just think it's that ppl who love the Alessa saga subconsciously resent the idea that the popular opinion is that the peak of the series is basically a side-story.
Not to mention Team Silent didn't even want to make a direct story-continuation of Silent Hill 1 at first, they only did it because higher-ups at Konami wanted them to tie up loose ends. The original story to Silent Hill 3 was a standalone story like SH2. "Silent Hill 2 is a spin off" is the last thing Team Silent wanted people to think, but unfortunately Avalanche Reviews, GamingBrit, and maybe others are pushing this elitist idea that it's an outlier that doesn't fit into the mythos.
@@NoName-cz3wn I can understand it in a way because as a fan of the Alessa/cult aspect of the horror I’ve gone into many conversations with SH2 fans who actively tear down the rest of the team silent games because they involve the cult storyline.
In terms of resenting that the peak of the series is a “side story” I more so resent the attitude many SH2 fans have when they say stuff like “SH2 is the only one you should bother with” to newcomers of the series. I’ve heard that parroted both online and irl. I was told that when I first got into the games and dismissed the rest of the series for years. (Homecoming was the newest game at the time and after looking into to it I just believed all of the games expect 2 were that bad) After going back and beating 1 through 4 I regret buying into that thought process.
Ngl that jump from silent hill 1’s graphics to silent hill 3 still impress me today.
It is still one of the best looking games on the PlayStation 2, besides metal gear solid 2 etc
I always figured that since Laura in SH2 didn't see the monsters and James doesn't see the doormen until he enters an area where Angela is dealing with probably-her-dad-doorman, people don't tend to see others monsters and whatnot. Vincent also has the, "they look like monsters to you?" line so I think people see different things but it's also possible to see other's under the right circumstances. James only sees doormen _after_ fighting one and sees the fire Angela apparently always see after that too. It almost seems like the wires got crossed when they interacted in the gross doorman boss room but unless something like that happens, people experience entirely different things.
I also think that other people's "version" of Silent Hill can "leak out" if they get particularly lost in their experiences. That's the only reason I can think of for all the weird corpses in Eddie's fight room are seen by James too. The "god" may also overwrite a lot of the physical space of Silent Hill. I dunno if any of this is right but that's how I always thought about it.
On the topic of "your own personal nightmare" at 17:40, I interpret that as the assertion that what was taking place was all orchestrated by Claudia, making every event that transpires "her doing," in a sense. While the world may not belong to her, it is something that she initiated into being created, making it something of "her own" in spite of having little control over what actually manifests. Furthermore, every manifested creature, object, or place that seems related to Claudia could be the results of lingering subconscious memories of Heather's time as Alessa, offering up a cleaner explanation as to the origins of everything you see in the game being wholly a result of Heather and not some mishmash of her and Claudia.
Excellent work, as always. You find new and inventive ways to impress every time.
That was always clear to me too. That it was referencing her plan
This is mental, I literally only bought Silent Hill 3 on PS2 yesterday and now this video has been uploaded the next day. Must be fate. Thanks again for the fantastic videos, your SH 2 video is exceptional and I’m sure this will rival if not surpass it in terms of quality
IKR? I bet SH3 yesterday, and now I have this lol
*Must be fate at work*
Same, I've been enjoying SH3 content and listening to I Want Love (Studio Mix) on repeat.
Something just seem to connects it
Great analysis, one of the best i ever saw of SH3.
Here's hoping for you to make a Silent Hill 4 analysis too, that game is pretty different from the others but it has a lot of great stuff. The four games made by team Silent are pretty remarkable.
Here's hoping.
4 gets a lot of hate just for being something different but like every game it has its own strengths and definitely does certain things better than the rest of the games. Hell, I would argue I like its story more than 2.
I've already overdosed on days upon days of quality Silent Hill videos, but I can never deny myself another one, especially yours.
I particularly enjoyed your diss on that wacky monster with a bad posture that allegedly killed Harry. One of the rare misses of the trilogy. And your heartfelt thoughts on the lessons of the series were touching. Not just that - kind in the simplest, truest of senses.
Personally, I thought he was kinda missing the context with the Missonary killing Harry. Harry is 17 years older at this point, with plenty of time for him to be less in shape or prepared for a fight against monsters. Plus, while the Missionary can meander about sometimes, he can be surprisingly quick at times and block bullets, so you can't just pelt him with bullets like many of the other monsters. This is especially true in the brightly lit room of Harry's apartment, as staying in darkness on the roof (away from the lights) helps Heather hide from him due to his poor sight, giving her an advantage over Harry (plus the larger arena).
Overall, the Missionary is a tool for Claudia to use, but he is a distinctly more intelligent and more human tool compared to the other monsters. The Book of Lost Memoires even mentions how "to Heather's eyes the appearance it takes is that of a monster," highlighting how it's more monstrous to Heather than in reality. Killing a more human monster makes it easier for her to follow her path of revenge toward Claudia, helping her fall into hatred that much easier. Plus, it makes sense that fighting a transfigured cult member will mark the changing point when we begin to learn more of Heather's past with the cult and her trying to confront the pain they made her suffer through.
@@joshuareesor1756 His point was that the creature looks and acts in a goofy way. I think it was made, not missed.
Sorry for answering so briefly, it might look like I dismissed your whole argumentation, but I just had to go for a while. Anyway, it's fascinating, all of that, truly, and I can see that you're one diligent fan. But he also made a point that he only come to conclusions, which can be drawn from the trilogy, the games themselves, not data mining.
@@Maggerama Eh, I guess my problem is that seeing something as "goofy," I think only hinders the process of analyzing something by shadowing intentions. To me, aspects like his bad posture and sometimes wandering nature (which can quickly turn to bursts of speed against Heather) made him appear like a mixture of human and animalistic qualities. He's a bit mindless but with moments of intelligence (like with his blocking, matching Heather with her own new blocking mechanic). Not really scary, but still intense at times.
But what I feel doesn't particularly matter; what matters is the Missionay's place in the narrative and themes, so being dismissive of him as "goofy" would only make analyzing any symbolism and intentions behind him more difficult. Not saying he can't personally feel that way, just that I don't think including that opinion helps when analyzing the game.
Plus, he suggests that a person killing Harry would have been better, but the Missionary is (or at least was) a person who only killed Harry because Claudia wanted him to. So it was by Claudia's will that Harry died; the Missionary is mainly there as an extension of her will that Heather can fight. The focus is still human at its core. Heather pins all the blame on Claudia regardless, so I don't see what the Missonary's removal would achieve beyond losing an enemy for Heather to fight and engage with violence more.
@@joshuareesor1756 If you don't see the monster like that, you don't. I wouldn't even try to convince you otherwise since it's something strictly subjective, I suppose. And again, I agree with you in the context given mainaining that it wasn't that big a deal in terms of his analysis quality. Just a lighthearted jab.
Think you definitely over emphasized the alessa part: a lot of what i prefer is heathers perspective as a teenage girl. That female perspective is really important and deals with a lot of anxieties and fears. Obviously we have the phallic and womb imagery everywhere, but there are plenty of other things that resonate really strong. The amusement park comes to mind: a clash of girly innocence with adult fears
Watching this video makes it clear to me that SH3's protagonist being a girl really is an integral part of the story, which is not something a lot of games whom pride themselves on 'strong, empowered, realistic' female characters can say with confidence. For instance, any plot points about the birthing of God in SH3 wouldn't work if Heather had been a man instead, as pregnancy is something men simply don't experience the same way at all. It's a shame I never got into these games growing up, because they're so well made.
I really think that the big standout point for 3 is the sheer novelty of having a horror game structured around the female perspective specifically. It's honestly something that still hasn't been replicated to this level of quality since. Love how even the non-Alessa related locations and environments play on the "teenage girl experience" and the specific fears that can come out of it, like being alone in a shopping mall or stalked in the subway, or like you mentioned with the amusement park. It all feels genuinely novel and absolutely one of the strongest points in the games favor imo.
also the whole stalker bit in the hospital is a heather thing i'd say.
@@MrDeliworker Yeah, SH3 does a great job of amplifying the everyday fears of teenage girls into a surreal nightmare. Something I've just recently noticed in SH3 is that the number of women's bathrooms, locker rooms etc. that Heather can enter is significantly higher than the number of men's spaces she can enter. Maybe I'm reading too much into it but I wonder if that's supposed to play on female exclusion and sexist othering.
Yet another video I didn’t expect but was excited to watch. Keep up the great content dude, you are crushing it here.
About silent hill 2 being inconsistent, I don't think that's actually the case. I'm assuming the God of the town hoped James would complete the ritual of the holy assumption, as it had left all the necessary ingredients to do so and used his desire to see Mary again to force him into it, it only failed when he accepted what he did and fought back, unlike Walter would do with the variant of the ritual. It's my take on it at least, especially since 3/4 of team silent's games are about resurrecting the same god, it only makes sense that 2 was really about that as well
I think Silent Hill has always had the ability to bring energies into reality. After the Alessa event, the energy of the place got permanently twisted and tainted, giving the town the ability to express one's inner darkness due to this tainting.
@@Maneru5978 why are the manifestations in 3 only from heather and not from douglas, vincent, etc then?
I also am under the assumption that Heather, being an incubator, would override everyone else's nightmares because the 'gods' are so close to being born. It's why Alessa's nightmare took over and why I assume Heather's feelings and nightmares would override Douglas and the others, dragging them into the Incubators nightmare.
Silent Hill 2 is not about a God, it is not about sin, and it's not about punishment. It is about trauma. That's it.
Now we wait for The Silent Hill 4: The Room Analysis in a few years
For all it’s flaws 4 spooks me in a very special way.
@@altermann6753 for all 3’s flaws i’m surprised 4 got dogged on so hard in comparison.
@@blunderless SH4's combat can be a slog in comparison to the previous games and Henry is a charisma vacuum but I think people are overly harsh on it. I think in general people are just parroting back what reviewers and youtubers have said about it without playing it themselves.
Also, not to sound too dorky or anything, but thank you for not advertising some random brand in the first 30 seconds of your videos. You always come across as more sincere and genuine than a lot of the channels on here and is the reason I'm still subscribed and support on Patreon
@David Nash Don’t forget super comfortable earbuds!
Why don’t you want them to make money 🤔
@@enviedeveryday2835 He is a Patreon supporter, he IS giving money to this channel
Now THIS has been a long time coming. Since your Silent Hill 2 video, I got the chance to delve into the whole series and thoroughly enjoyed everything of it. Yes, even Homecoming and Downpour.
But I wouldn't have done so without your two videos on SH thus far. Thank you for giving me the interest into looking back on a series I passed by for a while now.
From material I've seen, the town has a supernatural power to project the creatures and shape the environment. That's why the cult lived there specifically; the towns power could make it possible to birth their god. The town projected James's guilt, and Cheryl's fears. The incubator doesn't cause the silent hilliness, rather the power over the town does, for instance: when James no longer felt a need to be punished, it projected the pyramid heads ( James's punishers ) seeing themselves out. Their likely isn't any goal that the power has, and it simply does what it does like water not wanting to be wet or potentially dangerous. That's how I see it based on what I've found on the towns history. Great video!
1:21:40 Heather is beating dead horses. After doing that Alessa appears who looks a lot like Heather. I think it conveys Heather's ruminations and her inner turmoil. Trying to fight something already set in stone.
Not really. Team Silent is a Japanese studio so I'm certain that an English idiom would never occur to them on that deep of a level. Speaking as someone from Asia.
Ah yes, Vince Gilligan truly is a genius 🤣
@@jamesoclaire4512 LMAO truly a visionary.
@@nguyenvanduy247 team silent did delve pretty deep into western culture when developing shs. 'Beating a dead horse' would be something they understand though unlikely
I always thought killing the horses was mainly to give Heather an obstacle to fight against when on the timer of the carousel, being parts of the carousel that she can fight, but not the carousel itself. She must fight against it to not become consumed by it, like how Claudia becomes consumed by the past pain of her father's abuse, willing to burn in Hell to try and escape that pain.
Cycles of pain and rebirth are a huge part of Silent Hill 3, so Heather fights against a cycle and confronts a memory of her past pain within that cycle. She cannot destroy the cycle itself, there always being pain for people like her and Claudia to suffer through, but she can confront her desire for death from that pain and choose to continue living through it.
Picture of the smile by the ladder is Lisa Garland's smile.
i love the sh2 route. everyone having their own nightmares projected sounds so insane and the possibilities are endlessly, but for consistency sake the cult stuff really keeps the series grounded. amazing video btw, always love hearing people talk about silent hill, especially the goat
Lets go, ive been rewatching your sh2 analyses for months now
Been waiting for too long for this video 😭 thank you
1:41:50 you also forgot to mention, how in the previous "room" the street is nonsensically blocked by a car that wouldn't be parked that way by a normal person. Adds to your point)
Also this might be redundant, but I believe the reason that sh3 doesn't seemingly play by sh2 rules (and mostly plays by sh1' ones) is that Heather is a reincarnation of Alessa, hence why horrors revolve around her and not other people's fears. Basically, SH1's supernatural powers revolve around Alessa and town got twisted because of it. SH2 being after SH1 events attracts other people with problems, while still possessing the fact that they got influenced by Alessa. In SH3, since supernatural powers got twisted after Alessa ritual, they by design get attracted primarily to Heather and "ignore" other people
The other explanation is that SH2 on release wasn't successful and fans and critics were missing SH1, because of which SH3 was a direct sequel to SH1. You could say that because of that some inconsistencies were bound to happen
One more thing - I find it mind-blowing the first real visit to Silent Hill in SH3 is done, it's brilliant in a way. Heather is a reincarnation of Alessa who was born in SH. The first part of town we visit is a copy of a place we play in SH2 and a memorable segment in that game. Basically Heather and player (that played SH2 before) have very similar emotions "revisiting" that part of town for the first time in SH3. It has a similar vibe that you described when talking about mirror room in that how emotions are being transferred to the player without interrupting gameplay in any way whatsoever
I think the changing rules also showcase the multiple influences that Silent Hill can fall under. Silent Hill 2 has a book called "Lost Memories" that describes how Silent Hill was called "'The Place of the Silent Spirits'. By 'spirits', they meant not only their dead relatives, but also the spirits that they believed inhabited the trees, rocks and water around them."
So it presents Silent Hill as being influenced by human spirits and supernatural spirits beyond humans, which something like Vatiel can fit into. Since Heather is the focus of a ritual, the supernatural spirits focus on her instead of interacting with others. They have a purpose to fulfill and are not just casually existing like in 2. Silent Hill 2 focuses on the human elements, while the other 3 focus on the supernatural, though there's always some degree of influence from both sides no matter the game.
Masahiro Ita, one of the leading charatcer designers, also adds to this point. He stated that one of the reasons the Closer looks so much like the Mandarin is to imply that Silent Hill itself has some input on each monster's "design" and is not just dependent on the individual's perspective. Both the individual's psyche and Silent Hill's supernatural power work together to create the monsters, so both kinds of spirits affect the "rules" of Silent Hill.
You’ve been killing it with these analysis’. Thanks
I always imagined that the cult from SH1 messed with the town enough that it became a sort of haunting ground since they tried to birth a god. Like the town went into a sort of autopilot, drawing from anyone who enters the town with massive trauma attached to them. If anything to do with the cult happens to come back, the town sort of prioritizes it. Also Heather would be an exception because she’s a sort of conduit for that weird Silent Hill energy and the same rules could apply to prominent members of the cult like Dahlia and Claudia.
I got a HDMI adapter for my PS2 so I could play my survival horror games, I'm currently playing Silent Hill 3, I didn't know about the sharp graphics menu, thank you so much it's made a big difference, and I thought I knew it all about these games
Maybe a little late, but a quick observation about the horse thing. It specifically mentions 13 becoming 4. 4 is considered an unlucky number because it sounds like death 死, however, the difference between 13 and 4 just so happens to be nine. This isn't as commonly known but 9 is also an unlucky number because it sounds like pain 苦. Therefore you can interpret it as a metaphor for suffering until death. Finally, bit of a stretch, but the a Mandarin character for mother also happens to involve horses 媽. The character isn't used in Japanese but the Mandarin word for mother also has horse in it. Therefore if we really extrapolate we can take the entire thing as a metaphor for a mother suffering until she dies. This is all a huge stretch but I thought I may as well bring it up considering that you made note of it.
This is an entirely less educated point of view but, I wonder if the carousel horse hitting bit was Alessa feeling as though the cults attempts to birth their god was just beating a dead horse because if it didn't work before why would it work this time?
I love that he started it just like the SH2 video, also I've been obsessed with his other videos, this man literally got me into the silent hill games just cause of the SH2 video, so I've been desperately waiting for this video XD
I think female players may have gotten more out of the monsters than male players. The slurpers specifically are very reminiscent of sexual assault in the way they attack- knocking heather over and crawling all over on top of her (not that women are the only ones who can suffer from sexual assault, but the MC is a teen woman and has probably dealt with creeps before). I'd be interested to hear female vs male players thoughts on the symbolism they took away from this game.
“Teen woman”
@@bluealice1386 woman as in the female sex you contrarian jester
@@cesiumverbal102Clever insult, made me laugh. I’ll have to remember that one
Another thing about the Slurpers is that I've interpreted the noise they make as sniffing the air with their noses. Combined with their low posture, phallic headgear and literally being called "slurpers," it's hard not to see them as predators looking for an upskirt.
This as well as your other analysis videos on silent hill are so well done my friend
Literally just started replaying the first one a couple days ago and this comes out. Hell yeah!!!
I was saving this video for a while and I just finished 3. Fantastic video. You really dove into this series better than anyone else. I always enjoy this level of perspective for a video essay on such a strange set of games.
from what I have heard SH 2 and 3 where in development at the same time so with the way you explain looking at them both as being two alternent versions of the silent hill sequal was actually a lot more accurate than you realized
Didn't hear that
Did hear that sh3 and sh4 were developed at the same time
It would also be weird because sh3 is an answer to the backlash sh2 received on release for being too disconnected from sh1 storywise
Really hope you keep making analysis vids just like this because you always do such a thorough job.
11:00 There are hints that the town still affects bad people, though. Both Vincent and Claudia see the monsters, and Douglas, an innocent man, doesn't (at least as far as I know). Just like in how SH2, Laura was spared. She replies "what monsters?", clearly signifying she didn't see anything but an ordinary town.
Plus, Alessa/Heather is herself the conduit. Now that her repressed memories have been awakened by Claudia and Vincent performing a new ritual, it makes sense that the paranormal activity is orbiting around her once again.
Douglas does see the monsters. He mentions it in the cutscene after defeating the first boss worm.
IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS VIDEO FOR SO LONG!!!!
My night has been made now thanks to you
Regarding the "continuity issues" between SH1/SH3 and SH2, can't we just accept they´re different interpretations of a concept? Is it truly necessary for it to connect logically? That whole discussion has become kinda tiring.
Agree. I don't know why he made a big deal about it. Silent hill 2 is just it own thing.
Well, then just don’t talk about it lol. But it is in fact, illogical and inconsistent many times, and thats a fact, however “tiring” it may be lol
@@pokespartytv8086 i don't see why anyone is trying to apply "logic and consistency" to a series of supernatural events which are left intentionally vague and open to interpretation. the creators of the games have never outlined hard and fast rules to the way silent hill as a town works. it being often inexplicable and having to come to your own conclusions about how things work is part of the fun. it's the same with a property like Twin Peaks; you can fit in pieces of the puzzle, but at the end of the day the ultimate answers are intentionally unknowable.
I mostly see all the games as different interpretations anyways
If it was meant to be taken as a different take then it shouldnt be a number, it should be a spin off like shattered memories was. The point is that if 3 wants to be a continuation of a linear story. Its only logical that 2 should follow the same logic. If you want to understand to more deeply connect with the media you consume these common threads becoming your understanding of the world as a whole
55:10 always reminds me of a Metal Gear Solid scene. The music in the background gives me a Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater vibe. I love it
Been waiting for this! Been over 2 years since SH2. Here’s to another year or two until SH4.
I really like the idea here that we got two different types of "Silent Hill 2". It makes every game in the OG trilogy feel purposeful and valid when put beside the others.
That mirror room is probably the most scared I have ever felt playing a video game (or from any media from that matter. After that happened I legit had to pause the game and lay on my bed for my heart rate to calm down
My jaw legit dropped when I saw this show up on my page!
Your silent hill 2 review was incredible, so much so that I often go back to rewatch it every month. Honestly, your longform videos are always a treat to watch.
Right at the beginning, you mention "loss of innocence" as a theme, and past that point...a lot seems to get left out. There are so many themes of being female, not being in control of your own body, unwanted pregnancy, and sexual abuse/harassment. It's VERY obvious and if I recall one of the people who worked on the game has discussed these themes in the past.
Meh, I don't see it. Anything's plausible if you squint hard enough to make it so.
@@thomasthefascisttankengine4694 Probably because you're not a woman or put much thought into empathising what being a woman would be like lol. hoping that you're just like a child or something b/c the thought of a fully ass grown ass man with a grown frontal lobe writing this makes me concerened
@@thomasthefascisttankengine4694bro did not play the game 😭
The problem is, these things just aren't in the game. Yeah, there's a barebones framework for that theme, but if you actually play it, it just wasn't added in.
Like, sure, that would've been a cool game, but ultimately, that's not what the finished product is.
@@SyndicateOperative silent hill games are heavy in symbolism, but it clearly differs between the games at what themes they point towards
One of best and longest analysis I’ve seen in SH3. I’ve enjoyed every single word you’ve described about how self aware the game is and how much Heather as a character gotten herself involved into this. That how she alone is Alissa and she needs to fight against her inner most evil. Again this game has so much to talk about and that’s why I enjoy listening every detail of the games lore itself.
Damn, you kept the hype strong on this one and did not disappoint 💪
my head cannon as to why the triliogy happens in the order it does is:
SH1: Harry kills the incubus and takes Heather.
SH2: While Harry and Heather are away, after some time, Silent hill is rebuilt in some aspect and the otherworld is pulled back and reverts back to an ordinary town, and it is renovated to be a tourist attaction, and Cultists are doing rituals to try an remanifest their god and that is why the darkness of random people is drawn out to feed the power of the God so they can reattempt to birth god.
SH3: After collecting enough energy from people's pain and agony, they find Heather and perform a ritual to implant incubus within her, and the dream of silent hill she has in the cafe is the moment the ritual is complete, and then the events of 3 kick off.
and it is very convenient that Silent Hill 3 was the last installment in the series, and subsequent titles don't exist made by increasingly less members of team silent, slowly losing scope and vision of the original project, such that they have to pull some massive mental gymnastics to maintin cannon and insert a certain geometrical character into titles for fan service.
This is my favorite video game of all time, and I've gone through four PS2s in the past (almost) two decades purely so I always have a way to play SH3 whenever I need to. I can't recommend people play it enough.
I bet the Town of Silent Hill mods for the PC version of SH2 will become more translatable to sh3 with time. Sh3 had a a more stable PC port than 2 at launch. I highly recommend playing through with the upscaled textures and such for all that sweet, sweet detail, though the PS2 version is superior in a couple ways.
A friend in school once borrowed me Silent Hill 2 but I never got very far as what you were supposed to do while running around the titular town was too obscure to me, so I quickly gave it back to him much to his bewilderment and never really dove back into the series though I did collect the games just because I knew of their popularity and liked to have them.
Then one day at a horror themed anime convention I found myself in the game room and in the half darkness saw this peculiar PS2 game on a screen from afar, like it was calling out to me. The image of a young girl standing with her back to the camera seemed somewhat familiar, and yet I knew I'd never played it. Then when I curiously decided to approach the abandoned console and pick up the controller I immediately recognized the style as Silent Hill and realized it was this game.
I played for a bit and quickly fell in love with the dreaded atmosphere and the realistic ingenuity of the puzzles, like using a coat hanger to fetch something out of reach. I didn't play for long as I wanted to enjoy the rest of the game from the comfort of my own home, but suffice to say 3 that evening semented me as a fan.
I've been waiting for this!
Edit: Slurpy tongue thing is a representation of a young teenage girls fear of sexual assault.
TGBS just uploaded on my day off? When I just prepared myself a delicious meal? The stars aligned I see.... all I need now is another RttRL episode.
45:00 I always believed that that smile is from Lisa, the nurse. That smile is a bit of her official artwork, isn't it?
The idea of a "catapult dimension" where they just throw down random leg monsters at you sent me to another dimension
Your analysis' are on a level of quality I'd be happy to be able to replicate even a fraction of. Hope to see a SH4 video someday!
The fun thing about how hard the final boss is to fight in melee? ...One of the game's unlockables is tied to finishing the final boss with a melee hit. No joke. You need to do that to unlock the unlimited machine gun. You don't need to fight the boss ENTIRELY in melee, but you absolutely need to finish it off with one.
2+ hours of silent hill 3 goodness? Yes please
thank you for uploading. A welcome surprise seeing this! :D
SH3 doesnt have the right to look and run the way it does for a PS2 game released almost two decades ago.
Man I’ve been waiting for this one!
It showed up a few times in the video but you didn't speak on it directly:
End of Small Sanctuary (guitar track in the beginning of the game) is so beautiful. I put in my ears and took a long walk around my foggy college town one day and was just in all sorts of beautiful moods.
I do respect your dedication and passion. Looking forward to your next video
Oh wow this is FANTASTICALLY timed considering I just got into Silent Hill over the past week and thought "Man I wish TGB had done SH3 too but it doesn't seem as popular as the first two so probably not." Glad to be wrong
Great video, through and through.
29:05 fun fact: the BLOCK move was already in SH2, but it seriously was both poorly documented, and really not even needed. Yeah, I only learned of this thing myself a couple years ago, no matter having played the game dozens of times in the past 20 years.
Timeline wise makes the most sense that 2 is first, by around the time of alessas birth, the person with the strongest emotions influeing a not cognitively developed infants psychic powers. Silent hill gets to be nice before hand, lil fucked after 2, turns everyone to drugs for 1 and keeps it shit for 3
Not really, SH2 canonically focuses on the state of the town after the interaction between the towns' spiritual power and the Cults god.
Then ofcourse there's also Silent Hill 4, which has to take place less than 10 years after Silent Hill 2, because Walter Sullivan's death was already referenced in that game.
Hell yes! I was waiting for your SH3 analysis video and it's finally here! 2 hours long even!? Imma have fun listening to this while drawing.
I like thegamingmuses explanation where silent hill was always a sacred place, an area with power and a cult working in it. Then the events with alessa happen and she pours her own psychic power into the town. So it’s like double action and alessa changes everything using her power and the towns power to create manifestations of her memories and traumas. Then after she leaves the town is left with the residual power to enact on others who need the therapy like alessa.
Agreed, although Silent Hill isn't really therapy.
It makes the most sense, really. The town's power is probably what attracted the cult in the first place.
I swear I go through the comments on these SH videos waiting to see someone mention Muse
@@silverg2862 true it was midnight writing it lol
Yeah, I also like this twin perfect explanation which they made 9 to 10 years ago
@@AydarBMSTU I need to rewatch The Real Silent Hill Experience. Such a good documentary.
The office building and the construction area levels of SH3 have always stood out to me as some of my favorite locales in any bit of fiction. I’m not sure why. To this day I adore them.
The team definitely took a risk at creating a game that is strictly scary only for very specific camps of people. Unlike James whose story is very well-told and Harry whose fear of fatherhood is easily understandable, Heather’s fear is the fear of womanhood and being stalked. It’s scary because it highlights the danger of growing up: period, pregnancy, motherhood, “r*ped.” But those fears aren’t always relatable.
One thing I love about this game is just a simple yet effective image: one where a monster is turning wheels just below two pairs of legs draped in red dresses and black shoes in what appears to be a boiler room. Likely an apparation of Alessa's body split in two. But at first, I thought to myself "what IS that?" Very nice work, Team Silent
1:39:40 through 1:46:03 - This just really paints a blunt picture of how much of a fucking disaster a Kojima directed game in this series would actually be.
Everyone praises P.T. like it's this big revolution in horror but at it's core it's just an edgy haunted house, that's all it's got. Kojima is so far up his own ass that he indulges too much in tropes, references and tired narrative gimmicks to craft his interactive movies. He confuses convoluted for actually complex, he takes way too long to state the obvious, he explains the magic far too often and he would not think twice about injecting a glut of jump scares claiming they are _"another faithful callback to the horror genre"._
Pretty much the Anti-Araki, all the self indulgent throwing shit at the wall, none of the actual creativity or skill to back it up. Whatever Silent Hill game he comes up with would just be like the second Silent Hill movie (so basically another Homecoming)........
(sigh)
.......and people would still love him for it because they just that easy to please. All they want is another cheap haunted house pretending to be more deep than it actually is.
I've been waiting, Brit. Waiting for a long time....for this video.
I think you are forgetting that this is Lovecraft style horror through a Japanese lens. In Japanese horror they kinda like to leave things vague. They will explain things up to a point and then stop and you with is vague unexplainable thing you are left with. Why did the curse happen in the The Grudge. If it was as simple it is explained in the movie than why aren't there more of them. Look at Junji Ito's works. Even if there is an explanation do they ever make that much sense? Part of this kind of Japanese horror is how unexplainable and vague it is.
HOLY FUCK! I've seen almost every Silent Hill 2 analysis out there but yours was objectively the best and probably the only one I've seen that makes a conscious point to analyze the game 1. on it's own merits and 2. from the standpoint of its release. It's also the only one I've seen that attempts to disentangle the lore aspect of 2 after the lore of 1. I've gone back and watched it many times because its damn near cathartic. I am so so excited to watch you dive into this one!
My theory is that the town has priorities. If there is no god birthing, the town focus on random people.
IF there is a god, ot focus on the mother.
really appreciated the whole diatribe just about the mirror room (and the mystery phonecall which is also great for its own reasons). it's obviously a highlight but there's a lot of value to be had in talking about how. up until that point there's been a lot of abstract scares across all 3 games, and all 3 have there own unique bits, but the way the mirror room works being this super gradual thing that never really leaps out at you, just compounds into this horrible situation is great.
the black tendrils are a great example of a primitive but highly effective choice of visual imagery and the way the game specifically plays with your reflection is great too. even the way the camera angles are setup so you have to either see the door or mirror is a great choice because on a first time you have no idea what your reflection is going to do - if it might end up hostile or not. so there's an unnerving element to having it out of view and of course the door arbitarily closing itself is the last vital part to the scene.
its also pretty vital that the room actually damages you, though i suppose i wish it was slightly more gradually done. obviously you want the player to feel stressed, but i died to to this room the first time i was in it and it made it slightly less impactful revisiting it again to see if id missed anything and to "beat" it. if i had gotten out alive on that first go i probably just never would've touched it again, and i think it would've stood out more as this totally optional isolated little bit of madness.
SH3 is probably the first horror media I experienced that had a distinctly "female fear" focus, compared to the more neutral or masculine fears of other stuff i'd seen, or even the previous two games. This for sure isn't the first horror media that focused on fears of women, but I do think its one of the best. I think the things this game discusses are rather bold, which is saying something considering Angela's subplot from the previous title, and I think they can get a bit exploitative, but they're effective nontheless.
I do think my favorite thing about this game is its overt mood. Aggressive, gritty, vaguely frustrated and angry. This is probably the most visually intense game in the franchise, which only matches Heather's aggressive personality.
I found it kinda funny how he missed some references and designs that are thematically linked with women fears. Like, "what the fat rotten guy inside a train in a narrow corridor means!"
@@MiloKuroshiro yeah at the 20 minute point he lost me for a bit because a lot of the monsters are themed around a teen girls fears, it’s not that hard to pick up on. Dunno maybe it’s hard to spot for guys
@@altermann6753 if I had a dollar every time a PS2 game used a young women being reduced to her womb by the antagonist I would have two dollars, which isn't a lot but it's weird that happened twice lol.
What drove it home for me was the walk home through the train station and the sewers and the office complex. Dark, lonely, scary, it perfectly creates the fear of walking home late at night with a pocket full of change while something or someone could jump you from anywhere. A shame this is the only game that does this aside from SH2's Born from a Wish Expansion. SH Shattered Memories was originally going to star a psychology school student but was later reworked to be a "reimagining" of the first game. Can't wait for Gaming Brit to tear into that one.
@@altermann6753 I never had an issue with it. I think part of the issue is trying to come up with some sort of square peg-square hole logical world building lore stuff to explain everything. I think the red rust motif is part of the blood motif in the game, the very VERY obvious blood motif. Or the train platform sequence. The heavy breathing of someone watching her and coming up behind her, even as a guy I can understand that being scary for heather. Evidently it’s all up to interpretation, but I never really had an issue identifying those things, considering how good a job the game does at putting you in heather’s boots and mindset.
Despite having played and seen countless analysis of these games I got something new from this. The way you explained Heather's manifestations shortly after reflecting her recent experiences was really insightful.
Finally got to finishing this analysis. Stellar look into the game, though the way you spoke of the "Trilogy" over and over again has me greatly worried.
See, it's not a trilogy. It's a quadrilogy. Silent Hill 4, and I will say this bold faced, is just as much a part of the original franchise as the other games and more than earns its place. People can talk about stock sound effects or hit/miss experimental mechanics all they want, the game tried something different rather than continuing off the same formula. And in my opinion, it's the scariest of the original 4 titles. I would also argue it has THE best story.
Mind you, it's plot isn't nearly as direct or witty as the other games and its protagonist is dry, but that's to not steal the thunder away from the villain who is hands down one of THE most fucked up videogame antagonists I've ever seen. Walter Sullivan and his goals put a more grounded and demented spin on the Silent Hill cult; not being an active member, but a child who grew up under their influence and practices who winds up trying to twist one of their rituals to his benefit for the purpose of... Well, no spoilers.
The greatest part of the game is that it plays out like a slowly unwraveling mystery, and unlike with most horror, it actually DOES get more messed up the more you realize what's going on because it reframes EVERYTHING you see throughout the game, right down to why you're traveling through long winding tunnels to get to the different worlds and I dare not spoil that for people who have not played it.
I really hope he covers the 4th, I've been loving this series so far and 4 gets excluded and neglected so much that it's not really a surprise that some don't realize it exists.
In TGB's defence, this video is framed in a way that focuses on Silent Hill games that were out at the time of release of SH3, which naturally would exclude Silent Hill 4: The Room.
I'm honestly not sure if that's good enough for me, seeing as Silent Hill 3 and 4 actually shared development time and teams in the background. Essentially, 4 was a known factor even for its time.
@@Impalingthorn oh yeah that possibility didn’t even come to me before your mentioning. Idk how publicized it was back then though, and even if it was, we don’t know how knowledgeable TGB is on that history.
@@Impalingthorn I just want to express how much I love you advocating for SH4 because we’re in the same boat (i don’t know if I made that clear), I absolutely adore Silent Hill 4: the room.
In my eyes, it opened a whole new chapter after silent hill 3’s satisfying bookend, as if making the statement “oh no, this isn’t over yet”, and I think that makes the game and Silent Hill as a whole that much more heavy and intimidating.
Part of me wonders if it would be included more of it never had the “The Room” subtitle attached to it because maybe it lessens the big 4 that is right before it for some people, leading them into the impression that it’s more of a spin off than a proper main installment/sequel to the series.
@@Zeeboq There are a lot of people that think it "isn't" even a Silent Hill game which, being frank, is just wholly untrue. Looking up any interviews or discussions from Akira Toriyama and his team of that time will show the amount of thought and depth that went into its creation, especially when they refer to it as a "proper sequel" and speak about their concerns when it came to how different the game would be. From the get go, they wanted to base it more on Japanese themes of horrorand had a general theme of "change" and "corrosion" that they feared people would reject. They went forward despite those fears and, unfortunately, the fanbase largely did reject it. And when observing a lot of the criticism leveled at the game, it just feels like most people hate it because it's different rather than it being bad. Yeah, there's jank in the game, but EVERY Silent Hill game has that. When you judge it by its own merit, it brings a TON of really cool, horrifying things to the table and puts forward a story that rivals even Silent Hill 2.
Most people will never give it that chance, though. It's different, so it "isn't" a Silent Hill game. Nevermind its neighboring franchise Resident Evil where RE4 did dramatically different things to the point that it LITERALLY wasn't a Resident Evil game, started out as the prototype for Devil May Cry, and basically was the reason the franchise took a nosedive into campy action set pieces and away from horror.. Yet it's still largely embraced by its community simply because it's "fun".
Thank you! I've been waiting years for this video.